Justice League: The Shroud of Fear
by The Sulkier Clown
Summary: Warned of a distant threat with the capability of destroying the Justice League and the entire world, Batman goes to face it alone, separating himself from the League to extents that they cannot believe. While Wonder Woman and the League search desperately for answers, the shroud of fear will fall as battles are waged and feelings are finally faced. Set post-JLU in the DCAU. BMWW
1. Prologue: A Taste of What's to Come

**Prologue: A Taste of What's to Come**

He observed his handiwork as he stood before the viewing points on the bridge. Even through the thick glass he could still feel the heat of the world around him. The world he had just burnt.

"My Lord, no traces of life remain anywhere on the planet."

It was one of his subordinates who had spoken from somewhere behind him. He did not know which one. He did not care, especially not these days. He had many, many of them, and not one of them could live up to what he had lost. What _she _had taken from him. And now he had seen that justice was done. Partly, anyway.

"Good," he said to the subordinate, not turning to even look at the male, his voice nothing more than a low growl that he knew would strike fear into the lesser being. "Prepare the Gateway. We depart for the next target as soon as the device is charged and ready."

"Yes, my Lord." The subordinate bowed. He didn't have to see it; they always did. The combination of fear and reverence would do that to anyone. It did not matter if the subordinates had doubts, if they did not share his hatred. _He _was not about to give up on his mission. He would not until vengeance was truly his and justice was _fully _served.

And that would not happen until every last version of Earth was destroyed.

And every last version of _her_ along with it.

He was wallowing in that thought, loving it, dreaming of when he could make it became reality, when he heard the voice, the bodiless voice that was almost begging to him. The distant, human voice.

"Hello? Hello, can you hear me? We need your help, and in a way I can see that you're just going to love."


	2. Chapter 1: The Watchful Guardians

**Chapter ****1: The Watchful Guardians**

Shayera Hol, formerly known only as Hawkgirl, sat in the commissary, tucking into her salad as she sat at a table alone, and sighed. Time had passed. She had once again earned the trust and friendship of a lot of the Justice League again after her betrayal during the Thanagarian invasion, but there were still times when she felt like a complete loner, even now. The Founders in particular had let her back in, but there were times like this when she still found herself in solitude in this communal place. She didn't enjoy it, but she accepted that some people would want to keep their distance from her still, that some people took a lot longer to heal and to forgive than others. Truthfully, she couldn't blame them, but she was not Batman. Solitude and loneliness would never be for her, no matter how temporary moments like this were.

Speaking of Batman, Shayera looked up to see the caped crusader marching into the room. It was irregular for Batman to eat with the rest of the Justice League on the Watchtower, but it wasn't unheard of. What was unheard of was seeing Batman smile, and he certainly wasn't doing that right now. He had his usual scowl firmly in place. A couple of the more junior members of the League, seeing him with that look, actually took the sudden decision to put back their food trays and leave the commissary in a hurry.

Shayera would never admit it – she was about as tough as you could get – but when that look was turned on her it sent a shiver down her spine. She didn't know anyone who it _didn't_ have that effect on. Well, there was one who seemed resistant, but being a princess from an island paradise who had only known the world of men for a relatively short time likely left you naïve when it came to the fear that scowl should instil. Being immortal and about as powerful as you could get likely helped too.

It was almost like these people could tell Shayera was thinking about them. Batman had just got himself sat down – typically alone himself rather than joining Shayera – when Wonder Woman entered the room too. Shayera felt the slight smile come to her lips. She and Diana had grown close again since her return to the Justice League. It had taken some time and a deadly fight shared side by side, but they had rediscovered their friendship. They were practically best friends, sharing – virtually – everything with one another.

Shayera was sure that Wonder Woman was going to come and sit with her, ending her loneliness, as soon as the Amazon had gathered her food. She was shocked when instead she watched Wonder Woman sit down next to Batman with a heavenly smile on her face. It was far more shocking when Shayera noticed Batman's reaction. Hardly anyone else, ordinary human citizen or member of the League, would have seen it, but Shayera was well trained in observations, as the Earth had once found to its detriment. She saw the signs. Not only did Batman show no displeasure at having his seclusion ended, he actually seemed _glad _that Wonder Woman had joined him.

And that observation set off a whole train of thoughts rattling through Shayera's mind. Wonder Woman was still relatively new to the world beyond her island, still finding her way. She was loved by all and befriended by many, but for a long time she had been lonely, particularly while exiled from her own people. She was also a warrior born and true who would not back from a fight, to the extent that she was even stubborn at times. She was the light, the symbol of hope for a better world, that love was better than war, but she also knew that there was more to it than that. She knew there was a lot of fighting to be done to make the whole world a paradise like her home of Themyscira, a lot of darkness to wade through first. She lived life with her emotions free, be it happiness, anger or anything in between.

People often compared her to Superman, but Shayera knew that was not right, not really. Superman shared the vision of a better tomorrow, but he looked at the world today as a place full of a lot more innocence, and that spread into his personality. The fact that he had a family and close friends in "man's world" helped him maintain that, helped him avoid Diana's singular existence, and helped the two become more different than they would at first appear to anyone who didn't delve deeper. No, Shayera had realised something. Diana was a lot more similar to another core part of the Justice League.

As for Batman... He had been a mystery, but the Founders of the League now knew who he was, what really defined him. Having witnessed the horrific death of his parents at such a young age, he had been broken. Being alone, becoming Batman, that had been his method of coping, shutting others out and making himself cold to them so that he minimised the risk of being broken any further. He had sculpted himself into a warrior, the kind of which the world had never seen before. He was stubborn, determined and, frankly, brilliant, risking everything every day to defeat the enemies plaguing his city and his planet. He had no powers at all to help him, and that just made his fight all the more impressive, especially considering how many suspected he could bring down Superman in a fight if he ever had to. The morality of Batman was dubious; his methods were bleak, based on fear, intimidation, pain, the kinds of things his enemies thrived on turned back on them.

But he didn't kill, ever, not even the Joker. He was the dark knight fighting the battle against all the wrongs of the world, a symbol to scare criminals from the path of their lives, but he was no executioner. He was what was needed in the dark times Gotham faced, but despite all that he had seen in that city, he was still a good man, a shining light surrounded by so much darkness. And, of course, as well as all he did in the cape and cowl, outside of it he was effectively Gotham's crown prince with his social standing, if not formal regalia. It was almost like he and Wonder Woman were polar opposites in so many ways, yet also paradoxically exactly the same.

Shayera gazed across at them as the two engaged in conversation, Wonder Woman continuing to smile at Batman. Shayera thought she could actually see Batman resisting one of his own. She convinced herself that she must have been dreaming it. Batman _never _smiled.

But then her train of thought continued, thinking about the past, what she had seen before. The near instant respect and compassion they had formed for one another while fighting the Imperium aliens. Seeing how concerned Batman had been when he had thought Wonder Woman had been killed in Gorilla City, and her subsequent kiss on his cheek in thanks for his efforts to save her. Hearing the tale of the time Batman had done the unthinkable to save Diana after the witch Circe had turned her into a pig. The sheer fact the two spent so much time together in the training room, sparring between missions. It all clicked into place.

Full realisation had dawned on Shayera. How had she not seen it before? Now that she had, it was so damn obvious.

Looking at the two again, she did begin to doubt if the two of them even knew it for themselves, fully at least. Well, Batman probably would, but knowing him he also wouldn't act on it. He wouldn't let himself. It was the one area of his life where he was a coward. As for Wonder Woman... She had grown since spending more time in "man's world" beyond her League missions, had learned what it was to enjoy herself out there, to accept men as creatures that didn't need to be abhorred. However, Shayera remembered back to one conversation she had had with Diana in the early days, when Diana had seemed completely oblivious to some of the _good _things thatmen could do for a girl. By now Diana had more than likely learned _about _that, maybe thought about it at times after her experiences with that spy when the League travelled into the past, but as far as Shayera knew Diana hadn't experienced it totally. She would not really _know_ about the physicality of love, would not understand the basic desires of it, and would not comprehend feeling those desires for herself now. She was an ageless princess with many years behind her who had lived virtually all that time in happiness without even seeing a man, not a teenage girl with a crush. She was not the type of woman who needed a man in her life to be happy, who would run off to find someone else if someone she cared about in that way didn't open himself up to her.

More than likely Diana thought she just enjoyed being with Batman simply for companionship, for intrigue. More than likely, Wonder Woman had yet to make the same realisation about her own feelings that Shayera had just come to. More than likely she didn't realise that her encounters with that past secret agent had just made her want to experience the type of thing he had sought with her, only with different target. Wonder Woman loved everyone who didn't oppose peace and harmony, but she probably didn't realise that she was actually _in love_ Batman.

Now Shayera really did smile as she watched the two. She would not say anything. These two were just too complex when it came to matters of the heart. No, they would have to figure this one out for themselves, however long it took. Shayera just hoped she would see the day that they _did _figure it out. She had a feeling that then things would get _very _interesting around here.

* * *

_**Several Days Later**_

Bruce Wayne was a man who was certainly not lacking when it came to patience. The very few people who knew him, knew the _real _him, could have plenty of evidence of that. Crouching on rooftops and gargoyles for hours on end every night, just for the merest clue of a criminals plan, was proof enough of that.

But there was one thing Bruce Wayne really didn't have time for. He did not really care for the business world. It was not his mission, not his purpose, but to keep his secrets hidden – never mind to maintain the good family name of his beloved parents – he did what he had to do. At least it kept the money coming in that he needed to fund his night-time activities, as well as plenty to give to good causes for the benefit of so many in need. But he hated the endless meetings, the old men babbling on about things which he simply didn't care about. As much as he could he left that to men like Lucius Fox. Other times he just used them as a chance to catch up on some sleep, much to the board's chagrin. Here, though, on his _other _board, Bruce could not simply drift away, no matter how much Superman made him want to.

He was sat up there again now, aboard the Watchtower in another of those Founder's meetings, fully in the guise of the Batman. They were all there; himself, Superman, Green Lantern, Flash, J'onn, Shayera. Wonder Woman.

Nothing special had occurred; there was no emergency that needed the Justice League to leap to action and save the world. It was just a part of the routine. Batman certainly didn't hate routine or the need for the League to meet like this. Quite often he insisted on these kinds of protocols that other Leaguers likely despised. It kept things running efficiently, prevented mistakes from creping in that they could not afford, not when the fate of the world was so often in their hands. He just hated the way Superman so often droned on, and on, and on. If the man wasn't one of the few Batman actually considered a friend and not just a colleague or acquaintance, he would almost certainly have left by now.

Instead he just occupied himself by focusing his mind on a murder case that had sprung up the previous night in Gotham. It was a gruesome one, but it also seemed to be one of passion and not likely the doings of a psychotic serial killer. The problem was there were still multiple suspects and despite the police working on it, Batman had to make sure justice was upheld in his city. Gotham had to be healed, and it was thanks to the fear the underworld had of the Bat that the recovery was happening. Slowly, but it _was _happening. Nevertheless, however much he thought about that crime as he sat there, he remained wary of his surroundings and events. The World's Greatest Detective wouldn't have that title otherwise.

"And finally," Superman went on, causing Flash to actually groan at yet another order of business being brought up.

Now _that _was a man with no patience. The world's fastest man would of course hate for things to go this slowly. Superman, as he so often did when his speeches met that reaction, ignored Wally. Everyone else did to, despite most, if not all of them, sharing Wally's sentiment. Invariably, the Kryptonian's topic was largely irrelevant. Thankfully this time it was a _short_ topic, something about sticky elevator doors Batman said he would look into when he had the time.

"In that case, this meeting is adjourned," Superman brought the meeting to a close at last.

"Finally!" Flash burst out. A moment later there was only a red shaped blur where he had been, along with an open door leading out of the room. Others soon followed, but Batman did not wait for them to go first. He had work to be getting on with in Gotham, a murderer to find. So long as the League did not need him, that was where the world most required the Batman. He made it out into the corridors. They were thankfully empty as he headed in a direction the other Founders did not follow; Batman was not one for socialising at the best of times, and none of the others would be heading back to the Earth so quickly.

However, he was not quite as alone as he first thought. He did not need super-hearing or the advanced audio sensors of his cowl to hear her chasing after him. Perhaps even surprising himself, Batman stopped to wait for her. He was not one for socialising, but this was a special case. This was her.

"Princess," he said with his usual growl, signifying to her that he knew she was there. He did not turn around. He did not need to. Within seconds Wonder Woman had moved in front of him. There was a mischievous smile on a face, her _perfect_ face. "Something you need?"

"Nothing urgent," she quickly replied, her smile not fading. For a man many believed felt no emotion, Batman was having to fight to keep his reactions in check. He could not do what he wanted to at that moment. It wasn't safe to. It may never be. "We haven't had a chance to talk for a while. These days it seems either the world needs the League or Gotham needs the Batman. Or both. I guess I was just looking for the chance to relax and have a bit of fun again."

"Then shouldn't you be talking to Wally? Or _anyone_ else. Even Lantern would be a better call than me. I don't exactly have _fun_, Princess," Batman growled back. It was true, at least in the sense that normal people would think of it. He hadn't had fun since he was eight years old. All those parties as the playboy were as much a part of the job for him as those meetings with the Wayne Enterprises board. They weren't enjoyable events.

But damn it, she was still smiling. Worse, it had gotten bigger, more _enticing_. She actually put a hand against his cheek to go with it, a soft hand. It felt wonderful against the little flesh he had on show. No wonder he had strung so many words together. So many for him anyway.

"_You_ might not. But then you don't know what you're missing. You should try it sometime. One day I might show you, when you'll let me. After all, you do still owe me that dance. I won't let you forget about that one."

"Not tonight, Princess." Batman had to force the words out of himself, using his wonderfully trained self control to force his gauntleted hand to take hers and move it off of his cheek. He wanted to hold it, to bring it in close again, but he couldn't. Instead he let it rest at her side as he released it. Her smile faded, but the spark that was in her marvellous blue eyes remained. She wasn't happy at his rejection, but at least she seemed to understand, or accept it at the _very_ least. For now, anyway. She was as determined as he was when she wanted something, and this was clearly something she wanted. Even if she did not know exactly what that something truly entailed. "I have work to do. Again."

He began to walk away, actually needing a second before he could tear his eyes away from her as he set off once more for the teleporter. She wasn't the type to just leave things like that though. She called after him as he walked away, his cape flowing in the still air behind him under his action.

"Don't take too long, Bruce. I'd hate for your target to be gone before you even realise who you're looking for."

The words had a second meaning. Of course they did. It would be obvious to a man without Bruce's intellect or knowledge of the past he and Diana had together. The two were close, that was certain. With all the doubts regarding Green Lantern and Shayera they might just be the closest pair of heroes the League had in _that _regard. Well, apart from maybe Green Arrow and Black Canary.

But Batman could not let someone else in, _anyone _else. Even her. _Especially_ her. And that, no matter how much it hurt him, was how things had to stay.

He heard her go, setting off back the way she came as he continued on towards the teleporter. However, he never made it there.

"J'onn to Batman." The Martian's voice rang out in his communicator. Batman answered it, not yet breaking stride.

"Batman here. What is it?"

"We have a situation. Your presence is required at the Javelin bay. A group of some would-be 'friends' of ours have decided to get together and cause some trouble. Currently they are tearing apart the streets of Central City, apparently with no reason other than disruption and their own amusement."

Batman knew that the way J'onn said friends that it wasn't good, but at least the Martian hadn't sounded worried in any sense. Good. That meant this mission shouldn't take long, shouldn't take him away from Gotham for long. This would obviously be a group who had gotten too big for their boots and wanted a fight. He could get the full briefing when he reached the Javelin, then form whatever plans he would need on the flight down when he knew exactly what they were up against.

He still sighed before answering, turning around to go back the way he had came. "On my way."

* * *

"So what's the deal with Bats?"

It was Flash. He had appeared from no where to walk beside her, stacks of food held in both hands as he chomped away, his mouth full. It was a good job Diana had grown to respect the young man as a friend from all their time fighting the forces of evil together, or else she might have had to chew him out for his lack of manners.

"Same as always," she said with a smile, unsure why Flash had shown up to ask _her _thatquestion. She had only just moved away following her talk with Batman. If there was something bothering Flash about Batman, why was he talking to her and not him? "He's as brooding as ever, but that's not about to change. His stubbornness can be his greatest strength and greatest weakness at the same time. But then, where would we be without him?"

"Having more of a laugh or two, probably," Flash answered, though he said so with a grin of teeth covered in food crumbs. All of the Founders had that respect for Batman. He was the only one of them without powers, after all, yet he was still the one many opponents feared above any of the rest of them. "You just got me wondering when you went running off after our _Mr. Dark and Scary of the year_ for twelve years running. I'd hate for him to be angry about something when I'm his favourite target up here for that glare of his."

Diana found herself laughing at that one. "I think you're safe there Flash. It's just how he keeps doing what he does every night, I guess. He'd hardly be feared by the criminal elite if he had your sense of humour; its his anger that sees him through. He's heading back to Gotham right now. If there is anything making him angry he'll have it taken out on Gotham's underbelly long before he's next due on the Watchtower."

"Yeah, I'd hate to be in the Joker's clown shoes tonight. Well, _any _night," Flash nodded after wolfing down the last traces of his food stack. "So what do you say, Wondy? Care to join me for a commissary feast?"

It didn't matter that he had just eaten. Flash was always eating, thanks to his super fast metabolism. Diana was just about to laugh at Wally, but also agree to join him, when her comm went off.

"J'onn to Wonder Woman. We have a situation. You're needed in the Javelin bay. Batman is already on his way. Flash and Green Lantern will be accompanying you."

"Understood J'onn," she answered the Martian, giving Flash the signal that food was off the table for the time being as duty called. "I'm with Flash now. We're on our way."

"Mission?" Flash asked the simple question as the comm clicked off. Diana nodded.

"We need to get to the Javelin now. The others will meet us there."

With that they set off, Flash running off ahead at his usual breakneck speed. Diana hardly dawdled herself. When it was time to fight, she was always ready for it. She was a warrior, born and true. That would never change, no matter how much she developed from her time in Man's World. Nevertheless, all her time with the League had certainly left her far more receptive to men, far more understanding of their value to the world than she would have ever become out on Themyscira. One man in particular had caught her attention.

All that talk about Batman, as well as as close to a talk _with _Batman that anyone would get, had gotten her thinking before she realised it now that she was alone, despite already preparing herself for action. Batman often did that to her. It was unavoidable these days. She knew she cared for him greatly, but he would not talk to her to allow her to understand the depths of her feelings. She had wisdom in abundance, but she hadn't the experience to back it up. Still, as an immortal Amazon she had the time to wait until he would finally open up to her.

And besides, right now, there was another battle to win.


	3. Chapter 2: Streetfighters

**Chapter 2: Streetfighters**

There were six of them. There were four Leaguers there to fight them. Numbers were not on their side. But then the Justice League was not about just strength in numbers. The odds were still so much with them that any bookmaker would have stopped taking bets a long time ago.

This was obviously a new bunch on the scene, people who had somehow developed meta-human abilities or who had just stayed out of the way until now. Whichever it was, though, was a matter only for when they were apprehended. As they had stated to scared citizens before the League had arrived, they apparently called themselves the Death Row Gang, naming themselves after executed prisoners of times past. It was as if they thought the names alone would help them achieve their evil goals, despite looking nothing like any the original holders of those names, nor having yet committed crimes worthy of the originals.

What made them chose to make a scene now was anyone's guess, but what seemed most apparent was that they were treating this as a form of proving ground. Taking on the Justice League, _any _member of the Justice League, and making it out the other side away from a jail cell would be a major boost to a fledgling criminals reputation. None of this lot seemed to have the brains to successfully lead their own life of crime for long, let alone a whole group of supervillains, so earning a reputation would be everything to them.

But they would not be earning one today. Not a good one at least. This would thankfully be one of those League missions when Batman had no need to worry about her safety.

One of the group had splintered from his five friends, leaping up into a tall building at the sight of the Leagues arrival. It took him a single bound that indicated incredibly powerful leg muscles, clearly seen even in the darkness of the night. It was almost like they had scared that one off simply by showing up. Some reputation _he'd_ earn. Even his friends were yelling at him – nicknamed Atzerodt according to their calls – in anger at his cowardice.

The whole act was also far too obvious to truly fall for.

The rest all held firm in the street despite what they were up against. That was foolish of them. Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and the Flash had leapt from the Javelin to engage them in battle. Punches were flying, power ring blasting, sudden tornadoes sending villains flying across the street. No matter how tough these guys were, they were going down fast. They may have power, but not enough, and no experience or wisdom to compensate.

The one in the building would be going down faster. Batman did not let criminals get away. He could tell what was going on the instant this guy "ran". A shot of the grapple set him in pursuit the moment the Javelin set down, just after a growl to the others that he would take the one up top, making sure that they would not follow too.

This was an office building, shut down for the night. Dark, spacious, only the two of them in there. Perfect territory for the Batman to strike. He kept to the shadows, hugging them tight so the villain had no idea he was even there. He could hear "Atzerodt" enough to place him virtually running straight through the desks and furniture, able to locate him without even needing the cowls infra-red vision.

From the sounds of stumbling, this guy didn't seem to be as powerful as his leap up to this office had suggested. He was tough, yes, likely with superhuman strength, but he wasn't invulnerable. He was probably counting on punching first. No wonder he was the one who ran when he saw Green Lantern and Wonder Woman. Batman kept track of where Atzerodt was as he tried to bash his way through to safety, but at the same time drew a sonic shock batarang. He did not move from his perch in the shadows, watching the villain run as he planned the batarang's flight. He even let the villain begin to believe that he was going to get away.

Batman had read Atzerodt the moment he saw him leap up here in his act of trying to become lost in the dark emptiness of the building. Crushing his hopes now would crush Atzerodt's spirit, ending any future he could have as a major criminal. The guy was virtually at the door before Batman finally unleashed his weapon.

Despite all the sounds of the battle below, the whistle of the batarang flying through the air was clear enough to make Atzerodt look back and gasp in fear the moment before it struck. Afterwards all he could do was yelp in pain as the electric shock drained him of his consciousness. A second later he collapsed to the deck, defeated.

However, Batman knew he was not done. He remained in the shadows, using the cowl to scan the darkness. Atzerodt had fled too quickly, given in too easily. Criminals were often cowards, but they also had egos, especially the powered ones. They would not run like this until they had been at least wounded first. No. This was clearly a trap to lure at least one of the League up here, and Batman was not prepared to send anyone else into the trap. He could, and would, handle it.

As it turned out, though, Batman did not have to identify how the trap was to be sprung. He could hear that the fight was still going on, but he had seen enough of these guys to know that he did not have to worry about his allies. This time, as was so often but not always the case, she... _they_ wouldn't need Batman watching over them to remain unscathed. At most, this Death Row Gang were causing them to make a lot of noise.

Nevertheless, the sound of the gun firing from outside this building was ear-splitting over all that commotion. For the merest fraction of a second Batman was almost back in that night in Crime Alley, and in the next fraction he was scared for his friends in the League down below. Well, one of them anyway. He was too quick to react for his mind to get a chance to worry about the other two who weren't permanently etched in there.

From his perch he could see where the shot had struck. Atzerodt had been executed by the person he must have been working for. Despite being laid out on the floor, someone had fired not a bullet but a metal rod right through his throat. Blood dripped everywhere from the source of impact. Batman knew that that sight would join the many caught in his mind for all eternity. He felt guilt for everyone he failed to save, even those who maybe did not deserve saving. However, right now he was more interested in the canister at the end of the rod that had killed Atzerodt. Someone was clearly trying to send the League a message, and Batman could tell who that was. The delivery boy at least.

These rogues were not unguided. They had just been fooled and betrayed instead, by the world's deadliest marksman. He must have been the one who made that shot; with such a projectile into a darkened room through a window, compensating for the wind at this height, it had to be Deadshot.

Batman had tackled the assassin before. He knew his style. This did not seem to be it, not since he had gotten out of his days with Task Force X when Cadmus was shown the error of their ways. Deadshot was not usually someone else's messenger, and he did not usually lead rookies, even as a con. That canister now protruding form Atzerodt's throat was not going anywhere. It could wait until after Deadshot was apprehended and talking.

Batman was steady, he was patient, but he was not slow. Knowing that it was a trap before he sprung it gave him speed of actions that Flash would be proud of. Working his angle, Batman used the cowl to trace the origin of the shot to the roof of the opposite building. With the reflections on the broken glass, he could see Deadshot running for a stairwell to escape the building. Odd. He also wasn't normally the type to run when he could have a shot at any one of several of the League, especially Batman. Another thing to _ask _him about.

Safe that he was not about to come under fire, Batman launched his grapple. The wind rippled around him as he was pulled from one building to the next, but he was not heading for the roof and a direct chase. Deadshot had a head start, and Batman hadn't the Flash's speed. This way, he would not need it. It was another office building, again shut down for the night, but thanks to the cowls night vision Batman had seen the sign two floors from the roof marking the door to the stairwell.

Flung across through the windows thanks to the grapple, Batman rolled over desks, smashing his shoulder and letting out a groan of pain, but that did not stop him. In a swift motion brought about by years of training, he was on his feet again right by the doorway to those stairs. His timing was perfect. He flung the door open just in time for it to slam into Deadshot's face, sending the man sprawling. Before he had a chance to sort himself out, Batman was on him, one hand on his throat, the other pinning down Deadshot's wrist mounted gun barrels.

"Talk," he very simply growled. Despite Deadshot's face being entirely hidden behind a hood, Batman could see his fear. This would not take long. After all, he had broken Deadshot before with just a few simple words.

"That's what the canister was for," Deadshot answered in his usual casual voice, but Batman could detect the underlying fear he was trying to mask. Deadshot had clearly been trying to shake him off, to make him think whatever Batman might do to him was unnecessary. It didn't work.

"And the Death Row Gang? This isn't in your M.O. Deadshot." His grip on the man's throat tightened, not so that he could no longer speak, but more as a threat.

"They were _supposed _to be my insurance, my way out," Deadshot explained, voice croaking slightly under Batman's pressure on his trachea. "I was paid a lot of money to get your attention. A _lot _of money. Enough to stop me taking a shot at you, Batman."

So, whoever it was who had hired the assassin did not want the entire Justice League. They just wanted him. Batman's mind began quickly narrowing down the list of candidates. He asked the question anyway.

"Who?"

"Let me go and I'll tell you."

It was Deadshot's attempt at negotiating for his freedom. Batman had no need to negotiate. He would have Deadshot talking. With his gauntlet he snapped the barrels of Deadshot's wrist mounted guns clean, removing the man's threat. Then, at great speed he hauled Deadshot to his feet, dragging him across the office Batman had smashed his way through and over to the smashed window via which he had entered. When Deadshot saw the drop below him he squirmed like a madman, virtually screaming. It was no grand secret that Batman did not kill his victims, but this was not a fall that would be high enough for Deadshot to die. It was the incredible pain of it that was scaring him.

"Okay, okay! Stop! I'll tell you!" the assassin uncharacteristically wailed, head having to fight from looking down below him. The Leaguer's fight with the Death Row Gang was clearly in its final throws down there but it was not quite over yet. Batman, short of making sure his allies were all still standing, hardly gave them a second glance. Deadshot was getting the full effect of the Bat-Glare to increase his fear. "It was some old Cadmus goon! I didn't care which one; they had proof of funds, that was enough. Guess they knew me from when I got "recruited" to do their dirty work for a while. Said he needed to see you, and only you, Batman. Said the only way to make you actually go talk to him, alone anyway, was to threaten your meta friends. Something to do with him not sharing Waller's reformed ideas about your League's trustworthiness. How I got your attention was left up to me. That's why I tracked down these upstarts. That and the fact I'd get to kill off at least one of those powered types to give you the clue to lead you to him. I figured I'd let those who didn't know better fight the League while I stayed out the way and got _you _to find that canister, to send you on your way to him. You weren't supposed to catch _me_..."

"This man, Deadshot. Distractions weaken my grip." To make his point, Batman faked dropping Deadshot. It was enough to make the assassin squeal again and return to the information Batman needed. Already Batman had heard enough to make him angry. One of the people involved with Cadmus was back on the scene, acting like a big shot even if they hadn't been back then. They were threatening his friends, even if just with some punks this time. Knowing full well just how much these Cadmus types hated having meta-humans in their midst, even those fighting the _good _fight, Batman knew to expect that worse would be coming if he left this alone. Batman would not allow that. He would not risk allowing the government to hurt her... _them_.

"Right, okay! That guy... He wants you for something, wouldn't tell me what but it sounded important. End of the world type stuff. Type of thing to make the bloke hire a guy like me, and at my prices. Said he needed Batman to stop it.. Said he didn't have the 'favour of the government' any more and that left you as his last chance."

"And why should I trust you? Or him?" Batman growled. It was a valid question. He had learned enough already to be able to follow this up. Finding who this man was would no doubt simply involve recovering the canister Deadshot had fired, but Batman still wanted to learn more from the assassin before he went after his employer. It was clear that if this was one of those who so feared having meta-humans among the normal types, then that would be why he would want Batman to come to him alone. Batman just wanted to hear what reason the man could possibly give to ensure he complied.

"Because he said... I don't get this, I really don't! I only agreed to this because I was supposed to get the chance to take some shots at your other Leaguers on my way out. I was particularly intrigued to bring down the "World's Fastest Man" in the ultimate test of my aim, but..." Batman feigned to drop Deadshot again, fed up with his babbling. He didn't need to add any more threat than that. "All right! All right! He said it wasn't just the world that was under threat! Said that the world was just gonna be the side show! He said someone's going to bring the whole world down on us all just to kill Wonder Woman, unless the Bat-"

Deadshot never finished that sentence. Batman had heard enough. He really was angry now, more so than he ever usually allowed himself to get, almost to the point of losing his control. He was not convinced Deadshot was not lying, or that he had not been lied to by the ex-Cadmus man. All that mattered though was that he would not let that threat stand. This man now had an angry Batman coming for him, to find out the truth...and to protect Diana.

Deadshot just happened to be on the receiving end of some of that anger before Batman left. His free arm snapped into Deadshot's face, smashing his mask and eyepiece to shreds, even a tooth flying free from the man's mouth. The strike was so powerful it flung Deadshot from Batman's grasp, but Batman was going to leave him in fear instead of pain. A simple blast of the grapple had Deadshot caught around the ankles before he could hit the ground, Batman hauling the assassin up somewhat before leaving him dangling over the side of the building. Deadshot looked up at him accusationally, almost dumbfounded at Batman's action. Batman shot him back another glare to leave him in even more fear.

"Don't threaten _anyone_ again, Deadshot," he growled down at the assassin. "Next time, I might not be prepared catch you."

That was all he said. With another blast of his grapple, Batman swung back across to that first building to retrieve that canister from Atzerodt's throat. It made an odd squelching noise as Batman pulled it free. He did not even think about it, merely wiping the blood clear before disappearing deeper into the darkness of the building, setting off to get to the bottom of this, and to stop anything before it could happen. He would _not _let anything happen.

Not to her.

* * *

The fight had begun the instant they had arrived. After the first one's flight and Batman pursuing him up into the buildings, five of them were left for the remaining Leaguers to deal with. Shortly after the fight began, there were only four.

They came in all shapes and sizes. One was short and incredibly round, another taller than most men could reach, thinner too. What they all had in common was that they all had abilities beyond a normal human.

And the fact that they were no match for their League counterparts.

A blast of green light flew passed on Wonder Woman's right as Green Lantern sent one of the Death Row Gang crashing into a building at full force. The villain slumped as the light left her form, not getting up again. Coupled with the one Wonder Woman and Flash had taken out together at the start of the fight meant that the street brawl was now down to a series of one versus ones. That was fine by Wonder Woman. No longer did she have to think about tactics and the bigger picture like Batman always told them to. Now it was a straight up brawl, right where she was at her best.

"C'mon, darlin', bring it, I can take ya," her chosen target uttered in a kind of Southern snarl, the two of them stood effectively in a face off. Wonder Woman just looked at him with complete disgust. This man's ability was metamorphic. He could change his shape at will, allowing himself to harden his flesh so it packed a mighty wallop and to allow him to take a hit from someone as strong as Diana. He was probably the toughest one that the Death Row Gang had to offer, but he wouldn't be tough enough. He might be able to take a hit, but she very much doubted he could take a lot of them.

"Unlikely," she simply retorted, waiting no longer. She flung herself at him, fists a blur. He shrunk down so he was short and wide, stretching to dodge away from her strikes and reforming himself behind her. She swung her arms back behind her, catching a strike the rogue launched at her on her bracelets, the blow powerful enough to send her sliding back across the concrete. Eventually he broke off from the punch, allowing Diana the chance to send in one of her own. However, it never managed to hit.

The red blur flew across her vision as Flash caught the rogue off guard while he was distracted with Wonder Woman. Flash was so fast this guy didn't have the reaction time to cope. Before he could harden up his head again, Flash had him slammed head first into a solid wall. The crook groaned, but he did not get back up. Another one was down.

Wonder Woman did not care that her fight had been taken from her, particularly because Flash had left her a different target in that one's place. The gang member Flash had been engaging before taking the shape-shifter was left looking confused and disoriented a short distance away. It took only half a seconds flight for Wonder Woman to be at his side. This guy could not protect himself as the last one could. One smash of Diana's powerful fist and he was down too.

Off across the wrecked street Diana knew that Flash and Lantern were in the throws of defeating the final gang member. She did not rush over to join in. Something else now had her attention. Earlier on she had heard the gunshot up above. The fear that had struck her in that moment was like nothing she had ever really felt before. In that moment, she had thought that Batman was dead. After all, he had not the bracelets to defend himself, nor a power ring, nor super speed. But she should have known better. This _was_ Batman. He could never be brought down so easily. Her fears had been assuaged when she had seen him fly across between buildings only seconds after the sound of the shot.

What she was seeing now had her worried in a different sense. After sealing that gang member's defeat, Wonder Woman had felt the small objects raining down on her. Looking at the street, she saw small elements of a smashed lens, as well as a shattered tooth lying on the floor amongst a small trace of blood. She quickly looked up to see the source. Instantly she recognised Deadshot up there, hanging by his ankles over the precipice of one of those buildings. She also saw Batman fling himself back across to the first building, seemingly in a hurry. From the looks of how he had left Deadshot, she could tell something was wrong. It was not out of the norm for Batman to beat up his captives, but it was always for a reason, usually to get answers from them. This time, Diana could not see the reason. With Batman gone so fast afterwards, wounding Deadshot couldn't have been a part of an interrogation. That meant that Batman had seemingly acted _emotionally_, and that just didn't happen. She had tried often enough to see it. She should know.

Wonder Woman forced her mind off of Bruce for now, looking back across to Green Lantern and Flash. They had the last man backed into a corner, but he was thus far able to hold off their attacks and keep fighting when it would be far more sensible to surrender. Diana flew up into the air, up above the man, going unnoticed. She then simply dropped, bringing her feet down hard on the man's head. He crumpled, and she stepped away from him.

"Nice move," John Stewart complemented her on her action. Diana, though, was back above in the buildings now the last man was down. She stepped a bit further away, not noticing as John grabbed Flash's arm so he didn't go after her, hearing but not paying any attention as John added, "Come on, hotshot. Let's get all these tough guys rounded up and ready for the police to take away."

The two began doing as Lantern had said, but Wonder Woman simply flew up to the buildings. She remained level with Deadshot, but ignored the man she could now hear whimpering in self pity, instead looking into the building on the other side. There was no sign of him. A corpse was in the corner, the gang member called Atzerodt, she realised. Wonder Woman guessed he was the victim of Deadshot's guns before Batman had gotten to the assassin. She did not know and right now she did not care why.

All it meant to her in that moment was all the gang members they had been sent to stop had been apprehended one way or another but, more importantly, that Batman himself was gone, no where to be seen. He was a master of the shadows, no doubt there, but he didn't usually take to hiding from the Justice League.

To hiding from her.

"Batman, this is Wonder Woman," she said into her comm as she pressed it active. She could not hide the elements of concern from her voice. It was not that she was worried that there might be another threat on these streets that the League had not been aware of. She was worried by how, even for him, Batman seemed to be acting very angry, very alone right now.

"Batman here," he answered, bringing her momentary relief. "I'm going off comm. There's something I have to check out. I'll make my own way back. You, Lantern and Flash take the Javelin back to the Watchtower without me. Batman out."

That was all he said, and he typically said it without emotion, without any warmth, but she could tell that there was an anger kept well hidden away that he didn't usually feel, as well as a sense of dread. That wasn't normal. Just in itself, it scared her.

She tried but she couldn't get him back on the comm again. He had answered, but he had told her nothing. She was used to him sometimes avoiding talking to her too deeply about his feelings on a whole variety of things, but the mission was everything to Bruce. For him to ignore her in regards to it must mean...

Well, she didn't know exactly what it meant.

Perhaps Deadshot would be able to tell her. The man was still whimpering away behind her. As soon as she, Flash and Green Lantern were ready to depart this scene she would cut the assassin down, drag him with them and then interrogate him her way before they went back to League HQ. Perhaps that would give her some answers, but right now there was only one thing about this current situation that she was sure about.

That was that she didn't like it. Not one bit.


	4. Chapter 3: The Enemy of My Enemy

**Chapter 3: The Enemy of My Enemy...**

For a man of his talents, it had been simple to get away from the smashed up street in Central City without even his allies seeing where he had gone. Then again, it was them that he was trying to avoid. They could not follow him. Until he found out what this was really all about, he would not risk getting the League involved, not when none of the others would understand the need for secrecy. If Deadshot had told the truth, then for now Batman had to protect Diana by keeping her out of this, and any other Leaguer wouldn't even consider not telling her that she was being threatened by someone so desperate to kill her that they'd take out the entire world. Batman knew that if she found out Wonder Woman wouldn't hesitate to try to hunt down the source of the danger, to try and take it out before anyone else could be put at risk because of her, just like a true warrior should. He also knew that _he_ could not afford to let her take that risk.

The Batwing hung low in the skies as he flew. He had remotely summoned it as soon as he had the canister removed from Atzerodt's throat. After clearing the building and grappling across a few more so as to be safely away from Wonder Woman, Green Lantern and Flash, Batman had called the craft down for a pick-up. Now he was flying out of Central City, suspicions mounted as to where this man would be that he had to meet. If he was indeed a hater of meta-humans, there was one city in the US where they famously kept away.

The flying could be done on auto-pilot. That gave Batman the chance to examine the now blood-free canister that Deadshot had intended to be enough to set him on his way. Extracting it from the compartment on his belt he had stored it in, Batman slowly examined it, still wary that this might be a trap, still unwilling to trust a man like Deadshot in the slightest. Only when he was satisfied did he slowly creep the canister open. What he found inside was only a single slip of paper. On it was written only a single line of information. Batman's suspicions were correct.

Whoever this guy was, he was in Gotham.

It made sense from the point of view of the man Batman was already forming a psychological profile of before even having met him. Gotham was Batman's city. The heroes of the Justice League only came to Gotham when he let them, on the rare occasions that Batman actually needed help. It may regularly come under threats from various villains of all shapes and sizes, but if you wanted only non-powered men and women protecting you within an urban sprawl, it was the place to be. Still, it did not stop Batman feeling further enraged that not only was this man sending killers after his friends to get his attention, but he was also doing it from the very place Batman had dedicated his life to trying to clean up. This man had better not be lying to him. He would severely regret it if he was.

It didn't take long to reach the man's address now that Batman had it. He sent the Batwing to full speed, not wanting to wait around. He actually found himself holding the control yoke so tightly his joints ached, so worked up had he suddenly become. That thought alone concerned him, albeit not truly surprising him. He had feared this for a long time now. It was one of the key reasons that had kept him from telling her everything, from admitting the truth to her back in Gorilla City, or on the stakeout of the Iceberg Lounge, or... Well, the number of opportunities were countless. But Batman needed his self control to be firmly in place. The risks otherwise were too great, to himself and to others.

That was why he jumped out of the Batwing before he had quite reached the desired address. With the glow of Gotham now around him, Batman set the Batwing to circle above. The remaining distance he would cover on the rooftops. Hopefully the exercise and the cool air would help him regain his discipline. He did not need to be overwhelmingly full of rage to instil fear in _any_ man. He always had enough for that.

At last he saw his target. The address was a tower of apartments within a district of similar buildings. The paper Deadshot had given Batman had not included an apartment number, but then again it didn't have to. A simple scan of the windows facing him told Batman which was the one he had to enter. It was now deep in the night, the sort of time when the only people usually so active were him, the criminals he hunted and their potential victims. All lights in the apartment complex were off, except for one. Near the top, the illuminations revealed the most obvious sign that this was where he had to go. It must have been slow, dull work, but the resident had carefully pinned his curtains to leave a gap for the light to shine through.

A bat shaped gap. It was like a giant hand beckoning him in. That was an invitation Batman accepted. Whatever was waiting on the other side, he would handle it.

Identifying a ledge just big enough before the window, Batman swung over the street below towards it courtesy of his grapple. For a man of great physical power, he also had a mastery of grace. Without even a thud against the glass, he dropped to crouch on the ledge. Until he knew more, he would approach this with stealth. He would surprise this man by his presence in his home, catch him off guard instead of ploughing straight in and making demands. He would play on the human nature to fear what isn't understood, rather than giving the man a jolt of testosterone by smashing his way inside.

Batman could see enough through the bat-shaped gap in the curtains to know that this room was empty, the man clearly in one of the others right now. Expertly, Batman unlatched the window from the outside, crawling his way through the narrow gap before gently pulling the window to again. He quickly scanned the room. It looked pretty run down, as if the resident was suddenly having to cope with living off a lot less earnings. This guy had obviously lost favour with the government big-time following the débâcle that was Project Cadmus. Considering how Amanda Waller was still high brass, Batman could only guess that because this guy was clearly unreformed from his fear of the League, he had been a kind of a scapegoat, the axe of the government swinging his way for all the chaos Cadmus had caused.

The sound of movement reached Batman from the next room. He could ascertain from it that the man was in the kitchen making himself a drink. No doubts he had spent the night sat in this living room, just waiting for Batman to show up. That gave Batman a plan. The lights were on in this room, but there were still shadows. Batman silently leapt to the corner, creeping into one such shadow behind the chair featuring enough grooves to indicate it was the man's seat of choice. He kept perfectly still in it, biding his time.

He didn't have to wait long. Within seconds a man brushed through the doorway, steadily carrying a steaming mug full of coffee. The man was lanky, slim, looking like your typical government type, with dark hair carefully slicked right back away from his face. He looked to be roughly thirty years old, with the face of a man who was both very naïve and susceptible to trickery, despite what he would have been through with Cadmus. From the way he slumped down in his chair, it was clear the coffee was needed to help him stay awake. On top of what else Batman had just read, the man was tired. That would make this even easier.

Batman waited several minutes before he moved, allowing the man to feel safe in the thought that he was still alone in the room as he sat staring at the window through which Batman had entered. When Batman did move, all he had to do was stretch out a single gauntlet and rest it on the man's shoulder. He almost leapt ten foot in the air in fright, accidentally throwing his own coffee into his face and giving himself another reason to yell. When he finally came back down and wiped the boiling liquid from his eyes, Batman was right in his face, glare out in full force.

"I got your message. Talk. Now. And don't even think of lying to me."

"B... Batman!" the man stammered, still blinking away and trying to get a hold of himself. "My... Well, I'm... That is... My name's Bert. Bert Westwood. Well, Albert technically, but everyo-"

"Why am I here, Westwood?" Batman cut him off. The man was blabbering even more than Deadshot had been. If this threat really was as bad as Deadshot had made out, Batman had no time for that. "What's so important that you hire a known assassin just to get my attention?"

"It... It's hard to explain." Batman didn't like that answer. Reaching forward at great speed, he grabbed Westwood by the colour with both hands, virtually hefting the man off of the floor despite him being taller.

"Try."

"All right! Well, I suppose I'd best start at the beginning. Just promise you'll bear with me! You were always the one Waller trusted the most, even if it didn't seem like it. And for good reason, seen as you don't _need_ powers and all. But this is a kinda long story, and I don't want you...throwing me off the building or anything!"

Westwood was definitely scared. He was nothing like the senior Cadmus members Batman and the League had encountered before. He was far too intimidated far too easily for that. Still, Batman needed him to keep talking, for now at least.

"I'll listen. Just talk fast. And _don't lie to me_."

"Okay... Okay... So, the thing is, I was in Cadmus when they came after the Justice League, but I was only a junior member. I didn't like that. I had top grades going in, I was the best man for the job. Yeah, I was young, but I was also smart and was ready to bring down the entire Justice League. But Waller and the rest just treated me like the tea boy. I wanted to change that. I wanted to do more to make sure that the Justice League could be kept in check if they went rogue. So I hatched a plan to get a bit more noticed by those up top. I remembered the story about the Justice Lords, those alternate versions of you guys who you encountered. I figured that if there was a dimension out there were you'd all gone bad already, there'd be another one where all these super-humans had been brought down too. And if I could learn from that, then I could make a plan. I could get noticed!"

"I said fast, Westwood!" Batman growled, violently shaking Westwood. He didn't need the man's life story. He needed answers.

"I'm getting there, I swear!" Westwood wailed, wincing without any actual harm coming to him yet. "Just... Just bear with me, only a little while more, please! I can assure you, you'll want... Well, no you won't, but you need to hear this! I found something out there when I was looking, something bad. Something a... a lot worse than anything I could dream up to bring down your League friends. Something that would bring the whole world down with it. I convinced one of the best Tech guys to build me this portal thing, you see, so that I could look into these other dimensions. Took a bit of searching but I eventually found one where I got to see the Justice League being beaten, but it wasn't what I wanted. This guy... He was an alien, a kind I've never seen before. Big he was, strong, _green_. Called himself Ovada Kaah. He could wipe the powers from any meta who came near him, temporarily at least. He had this space ship, huge thing it was, that no member of the League, not you, Superman, Dr. Fate, or even your pet Martian could get into. He didn't likemetas. He had a whole army ready and willing to do whatever he said. Started fighting them as soon as he came to Earth...well, that dimension's Earth. On paper it seemed like this was just the guy I was looking for."

"But he wasn't." Batman could see where this was going. Westwood still told him.

"No. No, the dude was crazy. The more I watched, the more I could see it. This massive spaceship of his... That dimension's Justice League were swarming all over it, unable to get inside but still trying to bring it down while these... fighter planes, I guess, tried to keep them away. Anyways, the guns on that thing packed a punch, a big punch. He seemed to be going after Wonder Woman, a _lot_, like the only reason he was there was to kill _her_. And that wasn't the end of it. Out of his ship leapt this massive column of fire when she was finally hit and dying. Like Kaah wanted her to see something before he finally let her die. This thing... this cannon. It set the whole damn atmosphere ablaze. Kaah literally burnt the entire Earth, just to finish off Wonder Woman. The only thing left alive at the end of it all was Kaah and his forces."

"So why should we be worried about it? You said all this happened in another dimension." Batman could see three answers to this question. One; Westwood was lying and all this was just a ruse to try to trick Batman or the whole Justice League into doing something foolish. Two; thisdimension's Kaah was on his way to this dimension's Earth to reap the same havoc Westwood had witnessed in the other. And three–

"Because he saw me!" Westwood explained in a hurry, finally getting to the point of all this. "Don't ask me how. He clearly has some dimension hopping machine himself. It turned out that Kaah's been travelling from one dimension to the next, each one to... Well, to destroy Wonder Woman and the Earth along with her. All I can say is she must have done something to _really _piss him off in one of these dimensions. And the thing is, when he saw me watching..."

"It gave him his next target," Batman finished his sentence. So that was it. That was what had got this man so worried he had set off the chain of events that had lead Batman here. A highly powerful alien from another dimension was coming to this Earth to destroy it. Great. And it was all to get to Wonder Woman. Batman had been wise to come here alone. He couldn't let her anywhere near this, not without risking her life. He would handle this himself. There was just one thing he had to clear up first.

"Yeah. And that's why I need you, why we all need you. Compared to him, a rogue Justice League pales, what with that cannon of his and all. You have to stop him before he can get here. Once he does... I don't want to think about it. But look, Batman, I'm sorry, I couldn't help my part in-" Westwood tried to beg with him, like he was trying to absolve himself of any guilt. Batman wasn't buying it.

"You're not telling me everything."

"I... I am! I swear!" Westwood was surprised as well as scared. He had clearly though he could deceive Batman. He had not.

"You're not," Batman pushed. "Cadmus wasn't yesterday Westwood. If you were watching this Kaah while you were still working on it, he would have attacked by now."

"Well... Yes, okay, I admit it," Westwood caved in again. "It wasn't _back then _that I saw this guy. It was then that I started looking into other dimension's, but... I may have, kind of... kept the portal I had built for me. I took it with me. It wasn't an official part of the project so it wasn't hard to steal from under the noses of Waller and the rest. When I ended up... where I am now... I figured my original plan would still work. If I could find a way to bring down the Justice League, maybe I could get back in favour with the right people. Maybe I could get my old life back."

"So all this is happening because you got greedy," Batman snarled at the man, pulling him in close and giving him a fresh dose of his glare. Westwood should feel guilty. This was all his fault. The world was in serious danger because of this one man wanting power. _Diana_ was in danger... Batman forced that thought from his mind, as far from his mind as he could push it. Control, he kept reminding himself. He still needed his control. This thing was only just beginning. "Do you still have your device?"

"What device? The dimension device?" Westwood stammered away, before he began rapidly shaking his head. "No. I'm sorry Batman. I... I panicked. When I learnt he was coming here... I forgot the guy had a dimension hopper of his own. For a second I fooled myself that the way he was going to come and attack our world was through _my _machine. So I destroyed it..."

Batman growled in his throat, signalling to Westwood just how displeased he was. That alone was enough to signal the man that he had to give Batman something more. He had expected Batman to be able to get him out of this hole he had put them all in, after all.

"I can give you the name of the man who built it! It takes Kaah time to jump from one dimension to the next. Something to do with powering up his cross-dimensional device so he can get so much through it in one go. Maybe my guy can build you a new machine. So you can still go after Kaah beforehe can come here and kill everyone. I can give you the name, but just promise me you'll go alone. I can even help you find the right dimension, the one Kaah's in now, preparing his attack. The machine I had built for me used a listing system based on what it detected in the other dimension, meaning I could tell whether I was looking at one I'd seen before or not. I've got the data written here–"

He held up a bit of paper, tight in his fist, as if saying Batman just had to agree and it was his. Batman simply forced the man's hand open and took the paper, quickly checking it was what Westwood said it was. It seemed legit, so Batman tucked it into his utility belt for later, returning his glare to Westwood. The man shook for a second, but then managed to finish what he had been trying to say.

"Just promise you'll go alone, and the name's yours."

This time Batman didn't have to ask why Westwood was so adamant that this mission was only for him as he had with Deadshot. It was obvious. Westwood had described a weapon no meta or magician could get inside, a villain who removed a meta's powers from them, a villain who had killed duplicates of the Justice League before. Clearly the best hope of stopping him now would not be brute force or strength in numbers. It needed stealth, surprise. It needed the Batman, and only Batman.

As for him, it was just like before. Even if someone else may have been useful, he had heard enough to know he would be going alone, for the same reason why he had come here alone. To keep this from her. To protect her. Above all else he _had_ to protect Diana. If he couldn't...

"The name Westwood," Batman demanded. It was time to stop playing games. He was suspicious still that Westwood was keeping _something _from him, but he was satisfied enough that he had been told everything that could help him save h...save the world. "I'll stop this Ovada Kaah. I work best alone."

That seemed to be enough to convince Westwood that Batman had agreed. The pathetic man was soon nodding away. "His name's Uriah. Lives right here in Gotham city. Uriah–"

"Kincaid," Batman finished the name. "I've met him before. He was building a cross-dimensional device then, looking to steal and rob from other Earth's to make himself rich on this one. I shut down his device. Permanently."

"But... But its not too late!" Westwood sounded desperate. Batman had heard enough. He threw Westwood to the ground, causing the man to slam into the back of the chair he had been sat in and topple over the other side. He scrambled back up, clearly itching to finish what he had been saying. "He clearly knows how to build more. You just need to–"

He had gotten back up enough to turn around and look at Batman. Or rather, where Batman had been. Using the shadows Batman had moved away. He had already summoned the Batwing for pick-up, opened the window and got back onto the ledge. Overcoming his shock Westwood clearly felt the breeze hit him. He turned back to the window and gaped at Batman open-mouthed in awe.

"I'll visit Kincaid," Batman informed him, before returning to the growl and glare. "Consider this your one and only strike Westwood. Stay out of things you can't handle. Leave the Justice League alone. And if you've lied to me, _at all_, I'll be back."

He didn't say what he'd do to Westwood when he did come back. He didn't have to. That had been a threat enough. He could see Westwood's knees almost buckle beneath him. That, though, was the last glimpse he took of Westwood that day. The Batwing had arrived. Batman leapt out of the window, scrambling his way back up to his craft with some more aid from his trusty grapple. It did not take him long to have it flying across Gotham at a hefty speed. He already knew where he was going. He hadn't told Westwood, but he had kept an eye on Uriah Kincaid ever since first encountering the scientist. Batman knew that Kincaid had not been tampering with other dimensions since then, but Westwood was right that that didn't mean he couldn't still build one of those machines, or even that he didn't still have one hidden away but out of use. Batman knew exactly where Kincaid lived if not where any cross-dimensional machine may be, and so he knew where he had to go next.

Where he had to be to stay on course.

Where he had to be to save Diana.


	5. Chapter 4: All Tied Up

**Chapter 4: All Tied Up**

For Flash and Green Lantern, the clean up operation had begun almost immediately once the last member of the Death Row Gang had been taken out of commission. For Wonder Woman, although she was supposedly helping, her focus was never on it. All the gang members had been sufficiently manacled depending on their respective abilities. The police had quickly moved in to take them away. They had also moved in to create the crime scene around Atzerodt's corpse.

They needed have bothered. Deadshot was telling anyone who would listen that it was his handiwork. He was still trembling from what Batman had done to him. It was clear he was confessing to that crime in order to prevent Batman coming back for him. For Deadshot to seem _that _terrified, Batman really must have lost control.

Green Lantern had used his ring to lower Deadshot down to the ground from where Batman had left him dangling. The police had wanted to take the assassin away there and then. Lantern and Flash had been more than ready to let them. Wonder Woman had not been.

Something had happened up in those offices while the Justice League was engaging the Death Row Gang, something that had caused Batman to leave Deadshot's moustachioed face in such a mess and then go off on his own without even talking to her. Or any of them. She wanted to know what that something was. She wanted to know what was going on. She wanted to know how she could help Batman face it, _whatever _it was. Deadshot was her key to finding the truth. He was not a part of the Death Row Gang, clearly, so what was he doing there? It was obvious, not needing the mind of a great detective. Whatever Batman had learned to cause his reaction, it was Deadshot he had learned it from. Therefore, it would be Deadshot she would learn the truth from too. The police would have to wait there turn to get their hands on him.

"Not that one," Wonder Woman spoke firmly as Green Lantern was handing Deadshot over to the police. The remains of the assassin's mask had been torn from his head, revealing the seldom seen face beneath. Already it was swelling, bruising, the gap where his missing tooth had been blatant. Green Lantern, Flash and the police all looked up at her confusedly, so she explained, somewhat at least. "I need to interrogate him before we turn him over. He's got some vital information that the Justice League needs."

"He does? Since when?" Flash voiced his confusion. Green Lantern, as before, just gave him a knowing look. For some reason, for a while now John Stewart seemed to be the one with the most understanding of the situation between Bruce and Diana. He certainly seemed to be the only one other than her to try to get Bruce to talk about it, albeit in vain too. Perhaps it was because of what he himself had been through with Shayera and Vixen, what he was still going through with them. He understood how two fellow Leaguers could have feelings for one another to an extent that they did not truly understand, or simply voice, as well as the effects that could have on all parties involved. He had clearly recognised this was one of those times. Diana had apparently not been the only one concerned by Batman's sudden departure.

"That's what the lady said," Green Lantern simply answered, before turning Deadshot away from the waiting policeman, instead ready to lead the man onto the Javelin waiting to take them back to the Watchtower _after _they were done with Deadshot. Criminals did not go aboard the orbital defence platform. There was no need to risk them getting loose up there, not with a whole planet to use for interrogations and the like instead. They just had to move away from here, and Green Lantern probably knew why. If what Deadshot knew made Batman run off like that, it might not be wise to let these policemen overhear it before the time was right to let authorities like them into the loop. "We'll pass him onto you as soon as we're done. That all right with you fellas?"

The police didn't argue. After all the League had done for them tonight, why would they? Green Lantern began walking onto the ship, pushing an unarguing Deadshot ahead with him. Ever since getting both feet back on the ground Deadshot seemed to have regained some of his composure. Right now he seemed to be readying himself again, trying to get past the fear Batman had filled him with so that he could face another interrogation. Whatever Batman had heard from him, Deadshot didn't seem willing to pass it on to somebody else without a fight. Diana, though, knew she would have him talking. With one last look up to those offices so devoid of Batman, Wonder Woman followed Green Lantern onto the ship. She was readying herself too, readying herself to find a way to aide Batman. When they got to wherever John would fly them, she would have herself calmed down a bit more, focussed more so that she didn't wind up just smashing in the other side of Deadshot's face. That wouldn't be helpful. Well, to no-one other than Diana herself anyway. Even then it would only prove a temporary means of venting.

Flash was that last one onto the ship. Wonder Woman gave him an '_are you coming?'_ look when she reached the top of the ramp. He still looked completely unawares of why this was happening, but seeing the look on her face had him offering the police a shrug and a cheeky grin. After a flash of red, he was then suddenly stood next to Wonder Woman at the top of the ramp.

"I guess we're done cleaning then," he commented to her. That thought made him smile; he wasn't one for the clean ups, they all knew that. But the confusion remained. Batman disappearing off on his own and harming a criminal as he had was clearly not a big deal to Flash. After all, he often knew Batman simply as "dark and scary", despite the mutual respect the two men held for each other. Now was not the time for Wonder Woman to explain to Flash whyshe was so concerned. She didn't think she could explain that even to herself. All she knew was that she had to make Deadshot talk, to find out what was happening. And she had to get to Batman, as fast as possible.

Taking a few more steps inside, the ramp of the Javelin sealed behind her. A few seconds later, the Javelin was up into the sky, heading for some seclusion where they wouldn't be overheard by anyone, a place where Diana would get the first of her answers.

* * *

They wound up in the mountains on snowy peaks, somewhere in the Rockies of Colorado. There was a small town or two out in the distance, but up here there was no-one else around for miles. Deadshot had been unceremoniously shoved out into the snow by Green Lantern upon their landing. They left him there for several minutes. Lantern was out there with him, but he was keeping his distance, only there as a 'just in case' kind of measure. Deadshot, though, was shackled enough that it shouldn't be necessary.

Diana was fine to let him stew a bit longer. When Batman was concerned, it always took her longer than normal to settle herself, a trick she had learned _from _Batman so that emotional responses didn't make her miss anything important. The Gods knew that she wanted to react emotionally, that it felt strange for her not to do so, Batman's trick not one she usually employed. Again, Batman was the cause of those emotions and the reason she held them back. She wouldn't risk a mistake now that stopped her from being able to find him, to help him.

"So care to bring me up to speed of what's going on?" Flash asked from behind her. She was stood at the top of the Javelin's exit ramp, looking down at Deadshot. The assassin had actually remained sat in the snow where Lantern had pushed him, not even trying to stand up again. Facing him from this distance was part of Diana's efforts to focus. Flash had remained on the ship, but his itching for things to happen was obvious. Now he had finally tried to do something about it.

"Odd choice of words for you, wasn't that?" Diana said the statement simply without turning back, commenting on the slowness of such a fast man.

"Woah, you almost sounded like Bats there for a second!" Flash blurted out.

It was only after he said it that she realised he was right. She _was _focussing so much on Deadshot that her voice had been emotionless, perhaps verging on cold. Or maybe Bruce was having a bigger influence on her than she had yet realised...

"Hang on a tick..." Flash went on, sounding as if realisation had just dawned on him. "Bats... We're up here because of Bats running off like he did, aren't we?"

"And because of what he did to Deadshot, yes," Diana answered, this time adding some of her usual warmth back into her voice, but still not saying much.

"I thought that was just Bats being Bats... What's up, then? What happened back there?"

"That's what we're here to find out," Wonder Woman shrugged it off. It was both the truth and an effective form of dodging the question. If she had tried to say more, she would have had to think about it more again, and she was too confused to do that without it making her both scared and angry again over Bruce's reactions in those offices.

As if to further signal to Flash that she didn't know more, she decided that now was the time to act, walking away down the ramp. From the footsteps, Flash had started to follow her. However, seeing Wonder Woman on her way down, Green Lantern knew that he was no longer needed to play prison guard. He passed her at the foot of the ramp, once again reeling Flash in with a halting arm on the younger man's shoulder.

"Diana's got this one, kiddo," John's deep voice reached her as she began crunching over the snow. "C'mon, let's wait in the ship. Get you fed up on some of those rations."

Wonder Woman knew that the rations on a Javelin were hardly the most appetising food, but Flash seemed to take Lantern's hint loud and clear. He stopped following her, the two men disappearing back into the Javelin. Wonder Woman and Deadshot were now the only people out here in the cold air of the mountain top. The assassin looked across at her trudging over towards him. His face looked set in stone again. He might have had a slight grin on his face – hard to tell through the damage Batman had done to it – almost certainly caused by overconfidence that anyone but Batman could make him talk. He clearly was not aware that Hippolyta had unlocked the full powers of Wonder Woman. She began drawing her lasso from her side as she approached him.

"And what do you think you can do with that?" Deadshot voiced, sounding slightly off kilter, speaking through the gap in his teeth and with swollen lips. Being devoid of the mask didn't help his usual cool façade either. Diana could see the smug overconfidence there, easy to overcome. "You can't scare me, love. No bit of rope in your hands is going to live up to what Batman did. You'll get nothing from me."

"I don't have to threaten you," Wonder Woman calmly pointed out. "You'll be telling me everything I want to know willingly."

"And how'd you figure that?" Deadshot continued to argue the inevitable. "I'm an assassin, babe. I was there on a job. That's all there is to say. There's nothing more that _you _can get from me."

"Oh, but there is."

She said nothing more, letting that thought worry him in full Batman style, only she didn't utilise a glare or inflict pain. With a flick of her wrist she had the lasso wrapped around Deadshot tight. The man squirmed as if that would get him out of it. It did not. Now he would see how Wonder Woman interrogates.

"Tell me what happened back in that office. _Exactly_ what happened. What did you say, or do, to Batman?"

* * *

"J'onn, you there big guy?"

It was Flash talking, the words coming in over the Watchtower's communications systems. J'onn J'onzz, the Martian Manhunter, was sat in the control centre, fulfilling his duties as the official coordinator of the Justice League. Of course, he was part time these days. Having a wife down on Earth meant that he had to be. He couldn't just sit around on the Watchtower all day everyday any more. Thankfully Mr. Terrific was still more than ready to fill in when J'onn was with his family, but right now was J'onn's turn on duty.

It had been a while since Batman, Flash, Green Lantern and Wonder Woman had departed to engage the criminals on the streets of Central City. J'onn had expected them to be finished before now. For a moment he felt a pang of worry that something might be wrong, but as ever, Flash was talking quickly and didn't even wait for J'onn to reply.

"Of course you are. Hey, listen. We need you to track down a guy named..."

"Bert Westwood," Wonder Woman's voice softly came from the background. She sounded a lot more... determined than Flash did. This obviously meant more to her than it did to the speedster. It clear meant a _lot _to her. Courtesy of being a telepath, J'onn immediately suspected the ultimate reason why.

"A guy named Bert Westwood," Flash repeated Wonder Woman for J'onn's benefit, not knowing that J'onn had heard Diana speak. The Martian was already scouring the Watchtower's database for the name. "We ran into Deadshot with those goons you sent us after. Turns out it was all a set up. We handled it, of course. I was brilliant! But anyway, this guy Westwood–"

"Albert Westwood, twenty-nine years old, current residence Gotham City," J'onn cut Flash off as the League's file on Westwood came up on his screen. Batman was meticulous in ensuring that database was kept well up to date on anyone the League ought to have any kind of interest in, mostly by himself but aided by intimidating the other members of the League into doing their bit too. From the looks of this file, it was compiled by someone other than Batman. The information within was far too... _disorganised_. "He was a junior member of Amanda Waller's Cadmus group until not long after they ceased seeing the League as a major threat to national security. The government since let him go and he was been living off a retailers salary. We have a photograph and current address on file."

"Great! Patch them through to the ship, would you big guy?" Flash eagerly replied, before getting on and finishing off the sentence J'onn had interrupted. Thankfully, this time Flash was saying something that actually interested the Martian beyond simply humouring his friend. "Anyways, this guy Westwood. Turns out he sent Deadshot after us just to get Bats' attention. Those guys in Central City were just Deadshot's way of drawing Tall, Dark and Scary to him. Deadshot killed off one of his own goons to send Bats after this guy Westwood. Bats got Deadshot before he went, of course, but we figure we need to know what Westwood's up to and what he wanted Bats for."

"I assume from that that Batman is not telling you why himself?"

"He's gone off comm, J'onn," Green Lantern's voice came over the comm now, stepping in for Flash for whatever reason. "I'm guessing _fully_ off comm. See if you can track him down anyway."

J'onn quickly found that he could not. Batman had designed the Watchtower and was constantly updating it. It was not surprising that he was able to hide himself from the systems supposed to keep an eye on the members of the Justice League should he wish to. It was that Batman had chosen to do so that surprised J'onn, especially now.

"I cannot," J'onn answered simply. With so many humans around on the planet and not knowing exactly where Batman was, he couldn't just reach out to Batman telepathically to find him that way either. "Albert Westwood's details have been transmitted to you. I hope you uncover what this is all about."

He didn't add that he hoped they also found Batman. Batman might always come back, might always be full of surprises no matter how well any of them thought they knew him, but, especially after living among humans for a while now, J'onn still felt a sense of worry for his friend based on what he was hearing. He could only guess about how Diana must be feeling about this, deciding against probing her mind. For now, all he could do was sit back, wait and hope.

* * *

Thanks to J'onn's information they were soon arriving at Bert Westwood's home. It felt strange venturing into Gotham without Batman with them, or at least without having to get his permission first. It was almost like they were trespassing on a loved one's turf. Actually, it was exactly like that.

But Batman was not here to give them permission to enter his city. He wasn't even around to scold them for being there. At least if he had then Wonder Woman would have less reason to fear how _differently _the man was acting. She had gotten Deadshot to give her his entire life story, thanks to the lasso. Unfortunately, all the man knew of use was the name of his employer, that the man needed Batman's help for what Deadshot had called "end of the world stuff", and that Westwood seemed to be needing Batman for his own reasons, not for a new form of the Cadmus military. Perhaps she had not asked the right questions to learn more than that from the assassin, but she could think of no other way to ask the questions. Deadshot just didn't know enough. He was merely a gun for hire, a gun now firmly dropped off in police custody and out of her hands.

Westwood was the one with the full answers. Now they were at his home. Unfortunately, Batman was long gone. Even worse, Westwood seemed to have disappeared too. It might be coincidence, they might have gone somewhere together, or Deadshot might not be the only person facing Batman's sudden, mysterious wrath. That thought made Wonder Woman want to find him all the more.

"Not even a trace of him," Lantern commented, referring to Westwood. Of course Batman wouldn't leave any signs of where he'd gone, not by accident, and he certainly didn't seem to want them to know where he was or what he was doing right now.

Lantern was using his ring, looking around the small apartment for any signs of secret passageways or hiding places where Westwood could be, but there didn't seem to be any. Westwood just seemed to have left home. From the mess of the apartment, he must have done so in a hurry. Add to that the fact that he seemed to have cleared out his essentials to take with him, it didn't look like he would be coming back any time soon.

"Dang," Flash muttered, pure and simply. "So what do we do now?"

"Not a lot we can do," Lantern shrugged. "Without knowing more we have no idea where Batman or Westwood could be, let alone what's going on. Best thing I can think of is to monitor all communications to and from Westwood's family and friends and hope he tries to contact one of them. No way is Batman going to let us in if he doesn't want to, so Westwood's still our best chance. We should get Shayera down here to snoop around some more too. Without Batman to call on she's probably the best detective we've got at our disposal. And we need one to track him, to see if the three of us have missed anything. You two get back to the Watchtower. I'll stay down here to land a hand."

"Riiiight," Flash responded with a wink and a knowing smile, nudging Green Lantern in the ribs with his elbow. "To lend a hand. That's why you're staying here. With her. Just keep telling yourself that, John."

Lantern gave Flash a warning look and a growl Batman would have been proud of. Wonder Woman, however, hardly paid that last back-and-forth between the two men any attention at all. It was moments like this that she felt she had been right in her beliefs of the male gender in all those years before coming to man's world. There was only one she excluded from that though, even with him being the source of all her flaring emotions, both fear and anger.

And she had failed to find him.

"Come on, Flash," she beckoned to the scarlet speedster, deciding that waiting around here would do her no good. With Westwood gone she wouldn't be much use. She was a warrior not a detective. She may as well do all her fretting and venting back up on the Watchtower rather than here. "Let's go. We'll call Shayera on the way back up and have her teleport down."

"Sure thing. I'll get the Javelin ready to go," Flash reacted. Diana's voice had been all serious again and Flash, clearly not liking the sound of Wonder Woman unhappy, had decided not to argue. He even sped off ahead of her again to get the ship prepped for launch before she could even get there. However, this time it was Wonder Woman who was momentarily halted by a softly placed hand on the shoulder by Green Lantern.

"Don't worry, Diana," he said in soft baritones. "We'll find out what's going on. I'm sure we're all just overreacting. Batman would have told us if he needed us. The man can take care of himself if he has to. This city's prison population will testify to that."

Diana knew John had a point. She could also tell that he did not entirely believe his own words. She didn't either. Yes, Batman could handle himself, but he wasn't _always _right. One of these days he would be wrong, and that day could well be the day he got himself hurt on his endless crusade. Or worse. Diana sincerely wished that that day was a long way away. There was so much more left to be done, and so much that was still unsaid between Batman and herself. She had to know that there would still be time for it all. She had to know that Batman was all right.

She offered John a look that both expressed both her gratitude for his efforts and also said efforts failure to improve her mood, gently removing his hand from her shoulder at the same time. "Thanks for trying, John. Let me know if you and Shayera find anything."

And with that she was gone, venturing away to the awaiting Javelin. Flash was at the controls. He had the ship starting to take off before Diana had even reached the top of the ramp. She could only hope that, somehow, they could find a way that would lead them to Bruce that quickly.

She doubted it though. Doubted it big time. And that meant that her hopes altered. Now, as she sat and strapped in for the ride back up to the Watchtower, she instead hoped with her all being that Batman knew what he was doing.

She needed him to know what he was doing. She needed needed to know he was safe.


	6. Chapter 5: Going Dark

**Chapter 5: Going Dark**

He had severed his connection to the Watchtower before he had even left Central City. His connection to the Batcave was currently still online, but he knew that that would soon have to change too. When Diana had immediately called him after he had set off towards Westwood it was clear from her tone that she had noticed something was wrong. Capable of being as stubborn as he was, Batman knew she would not drop this easily. It would only be a matter of time before she would be going to the Cave, trying to convince Alfred to track him down using the Batcomputer. If she could convince Alfred that Bruce was in trouble, no doubt the old butler would tell her. He seemed to have taken quite a liking to her during the time she had been forced to live at the Manor in between Watchtowers, showing her even more reverence and respect than his customs and traditions would make him do anyway. Bruce knew why. Just as Batman had his mission, so did Alfred, only Alfred's mission was to try to help but one man: Bruce himself. He clearly felt Diana was the key to that. If Bruce was willing to be healed, he would probably have to agree. But he wasn't, he couldn't be, not without giving up on Gotham and ceasing to be Batman, and that he could never do.

No, he would have to disconnect from the Cave too, to stop Alfred from tracking him down and telling Diana where to find him. First, though, he needed information. Uriah Kincaid had not given him any trouble since Batman had shut down his cross-dimensional escapades, and with good reason. Still, Batman wanted to make sure he was not missing anything before he went in to see the man. Batman was nothing if not meticulous. He didn't want to be facing any surprises when he faced Kincaid.

Scanning the screens in the Batwing while en route to where he knew Kincaid resided, he found no such surprises on file. Uriah Kincaid was not like the vast majority of Batman's rogue gallery. He was not a bad man. If any of them, he was perhaps most reminiscent of Mr. Freeze, for one key reason; Kincaid's crimes had not been for self gain, but were to try to save a loved one. Kincaid was not a rich man, not rich enough at least. He was intelligent, obviously, considering how he had built an cross-dimensional travel device. However, he had been easily manipulated by others, getting dragged into using his intellect for Cadmus for what he had believed at the time to be an act of patriotism, and getting paid very little to do it. When Cadmus as it had been came down, he developed regrets for his part of it, beyond just moral issues, refusing to work for the government any more. Kincaid had a young family to support, and one of his youngest daughters got badly sick only days after what income he had had dried up. Hospital bills were horrendous. The only treatment that could save her was well beyond what he could afford, even with the help of family and friends. He had tried to do what he could legally to get the money, but it was all to no avail.

A typical father, though, Kincaid had not given up. Scrounging up the materials, likely with theft involved, he had rebuilt one of his cross-dimensional devices. He'd hatched a plan. Not being a bad man, stealing the parts for the device had been enough crime for Kincaid. At least enough crime here, where he was accountable. That was what the machine was for. If he couldn't bring himself to steal and rob his way to the wealth to save his daughter here, he would have to do so somewhere else.

His plan was working, until Batman had come across him. On the case of those stolen parts, Batman had figured out what they could be put together to build. Following the encounter with the Justice Lords, Batman knew that trifling with other dimensions was more dangerous than people could realise. No matter why someone was going to them, they could easily let back something deadly with them – just as Westwood had done with this Ovada Kaah. Batman had confronted Kincaid, fought him, and destroyed his machine. Kincaid had been apoplectic and grief stricken in the same moment. He had screamed at Batman that he had killed his daughter.

But Batman hadn't left things like that. He found out why Kincaid had been raiding other dimensions, learning about the little girl. That had been enough to let him know that this was not another normal case. He had let Kincaid go, but warned him that he had Batman's attention and not to mess around with other dimensions again. Kincaid had then stumbled home, almost broken, believing there was now no hope for his daughter, but too scared to cross the Batman again. However, when he got home, it was to find his wife crying with tears of joy. As she told her husband, Batman had paid her a visit before he had gotten home. Most importantly, he had given her enough money to save the daughter's life before he disappeared back into the night.

Kincaid hadn't proved any trouble since that night. From the file he certainly seemed to have been a perfectly law abiding citizen ever since. Looking through, Batman saw that Kincaid's daughter had indeed received her treatment and had since fully recovered. The Kincaid family seemed to have their happy ending. Seeing that was almost enough to make Batman smile. Almost.

There was nothing in the file to even suggest that Kincaid may have rebuilt one of his machines, but Batman was not giving up yet. As Westwood had pointed out, at least Kincaid knew exactly how to rebuild one from scratch if he had to, just so long as they had enough time. So long as _Diana _had enough time...

There was just one thing Batman had to do first, though, before he saw Kincaid. It was time that the Dark Knight went dark. However, no matter how determined he was to go this alone, he had to at least tell Alfred that he was not going to be home any time soon. Short of the one increasingly obvious person, Alfred was the one that Batman cared most, being the closest thing to a parent he had, and also the one who could most scare him. Even the Batman did not want to face Alfred's glare if he got on the butler's bad side, and running off without telling Alfred he would be gone would put him on Alfred's bad side. He didn't have to tell Alfred where he'd be going, he just had to do enough so that Alfred wouldn't believe he was lying dead on the street somewhere courtesy of some nut like the Joker.

"Alfred, I know you'll be there," Batman said into the comm.

As soon as he had activated his link to the Batcomputer, Alfred would surely have been keeping a close eye on things. Ever since Batman had started his crusade, the butler worried about Bruce every night he went on patrol. Now that he often disappeared away on League business too only exacerbated things. Tonight was one of those nights when Bruce Wayne had hardly returned to the Manor, and as such one of the nights when Alfred would most worry about Batman, despite all his skills and training. After all, it wasn't a one-way street; Bruce was as close as Alfred had to a son. Seeing Batman remotely accessing the Batcomputer would surely have gotten his attention.

"Indeed, sir," the butler's voice came back over Batman's comm. Whatever fear he had for the man he had raised as a surrogate son was kept hidden from his voice. No wonder Bruce was so good at that too. "I see you've been looking up our old friend Uriah Kincaid. He's not back causing us trouble, is he?"

"No, Alfred," Batman answered firmly. He could not lie to Alfred, but he also couldn't tell him the full truth. "He's been as good as his word since I gave him the money to save his daughter. I was just checking in on some of our old cases. Everything seems quiet in Gotham tonight, but I've gotten reports that that won't last many days more. I've got to go dark to investigate a lead. It might be for several days, so I'll be out of contact indefinitely. You'll have to get Robin or Nightwing to cover the standard patrols for me until I'm done."

"And what exactly is it that you're doing, sir?" Alfred pressed. Batman knew Alfred was worried for his safety more than whatever threat there might have been out there for Batman to investigate. For her sake though, Batman couldn't answer that.

"Nothing you need to concern yourself with, Alfred," he dodged the question. "Its getting late. You should try to get some sleep. I'll likely be back in a day or so. Make sure you give some reason to Lucius why I'll not be at the Tower tomorrow."

"I'll tell him you're off gallivanting lord knows where again, sir," Alfred cunningly remarked. "Doing the kind of things that only Bruce Wayne can get away with."

Any other time Batman would have chuckled at his butler's play on words, lying by telling the truth. Right now, he was even less in the mood to smile than ever. "Goodnight Alfred."

And with that he severed the comm, disabling the Batcave's ability to locate him as he had earlier done with the Watchtower. Now he was completely separated from his allies, just as it had to be until this mess was taken care of, until he knew that Diana was safe. He just had to see to it now that this man Kaah never got near her. He took a moment to make sure he was fully supplied for that mission, restocking on batarangs of all types, even adding extra food and water to his utility belt due to not knowing how long this mission was going to take. For the man who was always prepared, readying himself did not take long, and that meant it was now time that he reacquainted himself with Uriah Kincaid.

The Batwing had arrived at the man's home. It was a quiet area of small detached houses around the industrial sector of Gotham. However, this road was still residential, and not affluent enough for any criminal to bother giving it any attention. At this time of the night, that meant there was no one around at all, which meant that it was easier than ever for Batman to walk up to the Kincaid's front door unnoticed by all. The Batwing was sent away, dispatched to return to the cave on auto-pilot. If Batman had somewhere else left to be in this dimension, Kincaid would be going with him and could thus provide transportation. Especially as _it _could still be tracked by the Batcomputer in the cave, the Batwing had done all it could to help him in his latest effort to save the world.

The world and so much more...

Just like the entire street, the Kincaid residence was clearly all shut down for the night. That wasn't going to last long. Stood before the front door, Batman realised the ironic humour if anyone saw this. Batman, master of shadows who could show up out of thin air behind anyone, ringing a door bell and knocking on the door like any normal person. It certainly felt strange to him, especially having to do both twice, but this shouldn't be the kind of man Batman needed to unleash the fear tactics on. It was a man who already knew that, beneath the shroud of fear, the Batman also had a heart.

The sound of a dog barking from within the home was the first give away that the Kincaids had awoken at the sound of his knocking. The lights soon started to come on inside the house, shortly followed by the sounds of nervous shuffling. In Gotham City, even after years of Batman's hard work, citizens were still extremely careful when someone came calling at this sort of hour. Even from the other side of the door, Batman recognised the sounds of a shotgun being cocked. He got onto the balls of his feet, ready to leap into action should it be needed, but otherwise stood firm. He had seen the peep-hole in the door.

"Whoever's out there, know that I'm pa– Oh!" the recognisable voice of Uriah Kincaid shouted through the door. It was quickly followed by the sounds of a heavy object being set aside and locks being opened. A second later, the door was opened, revealing the man behind it. Uriah Kincaid looked old considering he was only middle-aged, his dark skin already wrinkling, the hair on his head long receded and greyed. His green eyes were wide in recognition, as well as confusion and elements of both gratitude and fear. "Batman! I... Wh... I'm sorry but..."

"Relax, Kincaid," Batman cut off his stammering with a raised hand. "I need your help."

"My help...?" Kincaid was clearly completely lost. Batman really couldn't blame him. Even if he hadn't just been awoken in the middle of the night, he was sure the man would be finding this situation rather odd. "I... I don't understand. I mean, of course I'll help how I can after what you did for my daughter and my family, but what can _I _do to help you? I'm no hero, I'm just a regular Joe..."

"Your machine, Kincaid," Batman stated. At first the man looked frightened again, as if he thought Batman had come back because of that original threat from long ago. Batman quickly alleviated those fears. "Something's come up, a threat coming to attack our world from an alternate dimension. I need to use one of your machines to go stop it."

"A... A threat...? _Attack _us...?" Kincaid repeated again, literally rubbing his eyes as if it would help him comprehend what was being thrust upon him. He would have to do so quickly. Batman's eyes narrowed, getting threateningly close to his glare and forcing Kincaid back to what Batman needed. "But my machine... Yes. Well... I suppose, given the circumstances... And I _do _owe you... All right, Batman. I admit it. I do still have the plans. I haven't got a working device, but I do have the parts. I kept them all separate so that no one else could use them. I remembered what you said about not messing in other dimensions, you see? I did listen to you! I...I just wanted to be sure. In case little Alexa had a remission. I'm eternally grateful for what you did, but I didn't want to rely on you swooping in with that kind of cash again. Whoever you are under that mask, I doubt you could afford to keep bailing out guys who fail their own families. I mean, it's hardly like you're _Bruce Wayne _under there or something!"

Kincaid paused to laugh to himself at that thought. If time wasn't an issue, Batman would have been glad of it. But time was an issue. Seeing where Kincaid had been going, he decided to move things along, growling virtually in his menacing voice as he spoke.

"So you can rebuild one of your devices in a hurry. Take me to it. Now."

"I... Yes. Of course. Erm... Is that Batmobile of yours parked out there or do I–?" Kincaid's sentence was cut off as Batman reached around the corner of the door frame they were still stood in, removing Kincaid's car keys from a hook at the side. Batman had already knocked on a door. What would it matter if he rode shotgun in Kincaid's beige Volvo too? He threw the keys into Kincaid's hands, who reflexively caught them.

"You're driving. Let's go." He turned away and marched over to Kincaid's car sat silently waiting in the driveway. The signal was clear. Batman was not even giving Kincaid the time to get changed from the pyjamas, dressing gown and slippers he was currently wearing. He did, however, allow Kincaid a second to speak to his wife, who had come to the door to see what was going on. She had clearly been hiding in the bedroom until hearing her husband simply talking to the man who had awoken them.

"I'll be back soon, darling," Kincaid was reassuring her while giving her a quick hug. "Don't worry. Believe it or not, I'm going to help out _Batman_!"

Batman ignored the rest of their talk. He was just too anxious to get going and to this machine, and to what lay beyond, to care even enough for surveillance. Kincaid was not the kind to double-cross him. Batman was safe to let his mind drift, and right now it was certainly drifting. It was virtually still drifting when he and Kincaid got into the car and the former Cadmus engineer drove them off into the night.

* * *

"Here we are," Kincaid explained as they pulled up outside what looked to be an abandoned warehouse. Batman scanned the area. This was much more like the kind of place where the dark underground of Gotham could be found but, thankfully, they seemed to be operating elsewhere tonight. If at all. Maybe his years as Batman were really coming good. "The machine's inside. The place is largely a bit of a labyrinth in there. Figured it would help me ensure the machine was kept apart if people couldn't find all the pieces, not without knowing where they all were. So when I inherited this crumbling dump from the wife's lonely uncle I figured it was the perfect place to stash it all."

"Will it take long to assemble and get it working?" Batman asked as both stepped out of the car, walking briskly towards the warehouse.

"Maybe a few hours," Kincaid said with a shrug, sounding like he didn't know whether that would be considered a good or bad answer. "After what you said and did last time, I wanted to be _sure _that this one wouldn't be touched unless I absolutely had to put it together. Making it a fairly long job was my way of seeing to that. I wasn't exactly expecting this to be a world saving machine when I put the pieces in there."

"Just do it as fast as you can," Batman tried to calm Kincaid down, at the same time alleviating any possible worries that his answer might have angered Batman. He needed the man to work quick, and the best to do that was to keep Kincaid calm. The same could be said of Batman himself, of course. He couldn't let thoughts of what might happen if they were too slow here to enter his head. If he did then he would be letting pessimism set in, and that would weaken his resolve and in turn ability to defeat this Ovada Kaah.

And to save Diana.

Taking a key from his pocket that he had grabbed before leaving the house, Kincaid opened up the warehouse and lead Batman inside. Already Batman could see that it was a veritable maze, even before the lights were fully on. There were at least five different corridors leading off of the entrance hall alone, all looking like they twisted and branched in many different directions. It was amazing considering that this was hardly the largest of warehouse buildings in just this one district of Gotham.

"I hope you remember where you kept all the pieces..." Batman commented at the sight, only half comically.

"Got them well and truly memorised," Kincaid was answering quickly with a nod, remaining serious as he already began setting off down one of those corridors, Batman hot on his heels. "So long as I've not been robbed they should still all be there."

Considering how of this place looked from both the outside and what he had seen of the inside so far, Batman doubted very much that it had been robbed. Maybe taken over by a squatter or two, but no one in their right mind would look at this building and think it held something of value, let alone figure out what kind of equipment it had hidden away inside it. Good.

Batman didn't voice that thought. Kincaid didn't need to hear it. He just needed to focus on his work. Batman would follow him, would keep an eye on him and what he was doing. Meanwhile, his focus would also be on planning what would happen next, about how he would handle the dangers awaiting him from what description he had garnered from Bert Westwood. One thing he knew for sure was that this would be tough. Batman was used to bringing down hordes of henchmen, of tackling absolute maniacs like Joker or Bane with all sorts of strengths and schemes, but when he had been up against entire armies of killer aliens he had always had the League as back-up. Now he would be completely alone, just as he had to be.

That meant that more than ever he needed a plan. Now was his time to forge one as best as he could. He found his mind working harder, thinking things through even deeper than he normally did, and that was saying something. But then, he was normally just planning how to stop criminals. He could hardly believe he was thinking this after how criminals had defined his life, but this was much more personal than that.

All because, this time, it was for Diana.


	7. Chapter 6: To Absent Friends

**Chapter 6: To Absent Friends**

Shayera had beamed down almost instantly. Wonder Woman had only been gone a few moments before the sudden light signalled the teleported arrival. Flash had clearly been in a bigger hurry than ever in the face of a worked up Amazon, even if he didn't know why she was acting that intensely. John seemed to be the only non-telepath who had realised what was going on between Wonder Woman and Batman. There were times when he really tried to help the two figure out the extent of their feelings for each other, but it was hard for him to do that. It wasn't only because of his duties as Green Lantern, but also because he was hardly the one to talk, the state his love life was in. Working so closely with Shayera, as he was about to do again right now, didn't help his case.

"So what's so urgent that I get summoned down here in the middle of the night?" Shayera asked. She didn't sound happy at having clearly been dragged out of bed, but there was the faint trace of flirtation in her voice. Despite some efforts from her to get back on the dating scene, everyone and their mothers knew that she was still in love with John. Hell, if it happened been for Mari John knew for sure that he would still be in love with her too. Well, he _was_, but he loved Mari too.

As things were, it was... _complicated_.

"We need you to look for clues," John responded. His voice certainly wasn't cold, but he held back any flirtations he might want to make. He was with Vixen. As he told Batman before, he was very happy. Really. He was. He was sure of it. Wasn't he...? "It's kinda hard to explain. To put it simply, we've misplaced Batman, and we need to track him down."

"_Misplaced_?" Shayera repeated the word as if John was crazy. "Come on, John, you can tell me. Batman's too much of a loner for us to be worried just because he's gone off on one of his solo spells again. What's _really_ up?"

Us. She had said us. John knew that she hadn't meant it in that context, but it still made him oddly warm and fuzzy to hear her say the word to him. He almost struggled to get the next words out of his mouth.

"Let's just say, when Batman left us this time, he seemed almost... _emotional_. Wonder Woman's very concerned about why. So am I."

John knew that would do the trick. When it came to Leaguers who wore their hearts on their sleeves, Shayera was near the top of the pile. Batman was very definitely at the bottom, and well out of grapple range of the next guy up. For Shayera to hear that Batman was acting in a way beyond his well famed self-control definitely made it clear to her that something worthy of dragging her out of bed must be happening, or _had _happened.

Either way, they had to find Batman to know exactly what it was, and to help him to be the Batman they all knew, and _loved_, again. Yeah, he was cranky, stubborn, dark, but with all the good he did all the Founders had learned about the real him how could they not? One of the League more than any other couldn't argue with that, and John hated to think what might happen to the Watchtower if a worked up Amazon decided to vent.

From the look on her face, Shayera seemed to know it too. John didn't know how she had figured it out, but he shouldn't really feel surprised.

"Let's get to work," Shayera said to him, snapping him from the reverie. From the tone of her voice, it sounded all the more like she might even have shared John's intuitive suspicions. "Sounds like we have no time to lose. Tell me what's happened so I know what to be looking for, before either of our two most stubborn friends do something rash..."

* * *

J'onn was still in the Watchtower control room overseeing all League matters. His shift only had about an hour left to run, but he knew that he still had work to do. _Something _had happened with Batman, something to make him react as had been described. That meant that no matter what that something was, the Justice League had to know about it. First and foremost as far as J'onn was concerned, though, they also had to look after themselves. With that, he was particularly thinking of a certain immortal who had recently gotten back aboard the station.

"Still here J'onn?" Superman's voice spoke up behind the big Martian. J'onn turned around to face the man of steel with his red eyes. "I thought you'd be gone to see that wife of yours by now."

"I shall soon," J'onn answered simply, deciding to move things along. The Kryptonian hero was definitely the most powerful the League had at its disposal, but it was fair to say he was not the most knowing when it came to his friends secrets and unspoken feelings. Perhaps it was because he was such an uncorrupted and good man that he had felt he should respect his friends wishes and had decided not to look for those secrets. Or perhaps, as Batman was so often known to say, it was because Superman was too much of a boy scout to think about what could lie beneath. However, J'onn decided that now was perhaps the time that Superman should start taking some notice. He was not just the most powerful weapon, but he was also the League's innocence, the embodiment of its goodness and friendship, and particularly close to both of his fellow Founders now facing emotional uncertainty. That friendship was needed now. "First I have a mission for you, but not the type of one you might expect."

"Name it, J'onn," Superman said with that innocent grin of his. "I'm up for a challenge. What's up?"

"You need to find Diana," J'onn stated. He would not give too much away. Thanks to telepathy he knew more than anyone he had ever met would likely want divulging about themselves. Besides, Superman wasn't dumb, for all that he didn't look for hidden... _developments_. He would clock on to what he needed to himself. Eventually. "Talk to her. You are probably closer to her than anyone else on the Watchtower, than virtually anyone who isn't an Amazon. She needs you right now."

"I'll say." It was Flash. He had just appeared in the room, running in at his faster-than-visible speeds. J'onn knew he had returned on the Javelin with Diana. He didn't need telepathy to know that that flight had shook up the youngest of the Founders. He looked like a criminal after one of Batman's usual interrogations. No matter what people said, J'onn knew that Batman and Wonder Woman were a lot more similar than people would normally think. Personality wise, when all was actually broken down she seemed more like him than like Superman. "She's been acting weird ever since we finished up the last of those Death Row guys. Anyone'd think it had been her Bats had petrified before he ran off."

Superman looked confused. After all, he knew nothing about the fight with the Death Row Gang, but, as J'onn made it clear he was not about to offer up the explanations, he knew what he had to do.

"I'll find her," he said before Flash could carry on again. "Don't worry. I'm sure its nothing."

He then wandered off out of the monitor womb, his red cape billowing out behind him as he went. J'onn and Flash watched him go.

"Think he can do any good?" Flash asked hopefully. It was clear he didn't want a worried or angry Amazon around, for his own sake as well as Diana's.

"I don't know," J'onn gave the truthful answer. He suspected the only man who could really help Diana was the one that right now some of the League were trying to find.

The one man who just happened to be the best at hiding from them and as such being beyond reach, as he seemed to currently wish.

* * *

The training droid lost its head, but there were plenty more where that one came from. Diana was certainly not done with just the one. She suddenly felt so helpless, and that made her angry. In turn, that made her want to hit things, and that's what these droids were for. She had them tuned up to their maximum level, but they still weren't enough to give her a decent match, especially in this state of mind.

"_No, Princess. You're still giving away your attack by showing where you're going to hit too early. Either use it as a bluff, or swing later or faster so your opponent has no time to dodge."_

Bruce's voice was ringing out in her head. In the past weeks and months, Wonder Woman and Batman had spent a lot of time sparring in the training area. They both had a lot to learn from each other. Diana had centuries of experience fighting and training with her Amazon sisters. Batman was the master of every martial art known to man, and probably a few more no one else had even heard of. Together they could make each other even better. It was remembering some of what she had learned from him that lead to Diana ducking behind another droid and tearing its head off instead of simply punching through it.

"_How about this?" Diana had taunted, going in for another attack. She had held back her full strength, of course, not wanting to punch a hole in Batman's head. _

_She had thought she had done as Batman had suggested, yet he still managed to duck and roll under her swing. She begun to spin to face him, but his heavy boot slammed into the back off her knee. She fell to the ground and, before she had known it, Batman was atop her, pinning her down. She had found it oddly enjoyable, given that being pinned like this ought to make a warrior such as her furious._

She wasn't smiling now. Her face was contorted, her teeth bared in a snarl. She flew up in the air to dodge the assaults of three of the droids. She could have flung around to punch them to shreds. Instead she used her intellect, as Batman would. She allowed the droids to all come at her from different angles, to smash into one another. They weren't that badly damaged, but they were enough so that all Diana had to do to finish them off was land down on them. Hard.

"_I've got you again, Princess," Batman had whispered into her ear, sounding oddly soft as he kept her down, his weight pinning her as he held down her arms._

"_Ever stopped to wonder that I might have let you?" she returned, actually finding a smile come to her face despite being beaten. She _never _smiled when she was beaten. What _was _this? "Perhaps I find it very important to know what it feels like for you to have such a hold of me."_

"_Perhaps..." Batman mused. His grip suddenly loosened, his weight shifting so that it was no longer enough to hold her even when she wasn't using her enhanced strength. Diana didn't get why. He'd had her, but now he'd given her pole position. She didn't muse long. She took the chance he had offered. Pushing herself up with her powerful thighs, she spun herself around, flinging Batman off of her. More, she managed to completely reverse the positions. Now she was on top of him._

_But things just got more unexpected. A thin smile had just come to Batman's lips as she sat atop him to hold him to the floor. _Batman _smiled_. _To her._

Another pair of droids got destroyed, Wonder Woman grabbing one by the middle, slamming it into the other and crashing both against the wall. The wall itself was dented by the strength of the impact. That was the last of the droids she had to fight. That left her nothing to do but catch her breath, fists still clenched, mind still lost in the memory.

"_I see what you mean, Princess," he had said to her as he laid beneath her. "It is good to know what this feels like. Very educational."_

"_Then perhaps we should do this more often," Diana had grinned down at Batman all the more. The two had their faces virtually at touching distance... _

Unfortunately, that had been the time J'onn had needed to summon them both for another mission and that moment was lost. Batman had retreated back into his shell after that. There was a lot of times when she almost got him out of it, but something always came up to push him back in. Right now, he was definitely in his shell, whatever he was doing.

Hera, she had to find him.

"Did the robot's do something to offend you?"

"Superman!" Wonder Woman said in reaction to the voice that had spoken up behind her. Sure enough, Superman was stood there in the doorway, observing her handiwork. He too had snook up on her as usually only Batman could. Then again, she had been quite distracted. That made Diana look back at the wreckage of the training droids. It really was carnage. Perhaps she had gone overboard. Perhaps she had reason too.

"J'onn asked me to talk to you. He said something might be bothering you and that I needed to talk to you about it. Looks like he was right," Superman explained as she looked back to him. She knew her face would show her current unhappiness, telling the Kryptonian all the more how right J'onn was. "So what's on your mind. Is there anything I can do?"

"Maybe..." Diana mused, thinking. "You know him better than any of us. You've known him for longer. Kal, I think something's wrong with Batman, and it worries me."

"Batman?" Superman sounded shocked. He clearly had never expected what had gotten Diana so worked up – and not everyone else too – would be Batman. Unlike Green Lantern, it appeared he was totally oblivious. He was also concerned. Batman was his best friend after all. "Diana, what's happened? Is he all right?"

"I don't know," she replied honestly, shaking her head in frustration. She began explaining, and when she did she did not stop. "And that's what worries me so much. We were on a mission in Central City, Batman, Flash, GL and myself. There was a gang of metas causing trouble. One went up to the rooftops. Bruce went after him while the rest of us took on the ones at street level. Next thing I know, there was a gunshot. It was Deadshot, but for some reason he killed one of the gang instead of going after any of us. Batman got him before any of the rest of us could even think about it, so we left him to it while we finished off the gang. But it was what Bruce _did_ to Deadshot that got me worried. I know his methods can be _different _to the rest of us, Kal, but this time... He did more than just threaten Deadshot into telling him what he needed to know. Batman got his answers, but... He hurt Deadshot, badly, and from how he was gone so soon afterwards..."

Superman took a moment before replying as she trailed off, but Diana was sure that hearing what had happened had made him worried about Bruce too. "He hurt Deadshot because of what he learned. You're right, that's not even in _Batman's_ style. I've never seen him lose his control like that. I'm guessing you have no idea what Deadshot told him?" Clark paused, before more realisation struck. "Or where Batman is now."

"Actually, I do," Diana replied. "The first one anyway. I interrogated Deadshot myself before we turned him over to the police. It turns out he was hired to create a disturbance that could draw Batman out, before sending him off to see a former Cadmus lowlife. Apparently this man, an Albert Westwood, thought there was a world ending threat out there, something so deadly he had to get help from the Justice League, but of course, being from Cadmus, he doesn't trust people with powers and so he needed Batman. That was all Deadshot knew, but when we went to see this Westwood he had disappeared, so we couldn't find out anything more about this threat and who or what it could be. That's bad enough, but Bruce wasn't there either. We can't find him, he's deactivated our tracking systems. Kal, he's angry for some reason, and he's taking this all on himself. We can't contact him, and when I did he shut it down quickly, telling me nothing. I know he's more than capable, but I'm worried about more than just what he's going up against and what that can mean for all of us. I'm worried about what whatever is going on is doing to _him _already. We've got to find him."

This time Superman didn't need time to think. "Bruce does always put too much on himself. He'll hate it when we show up, but I agree with you, Diana. It sounds like we need to help him. And I think I might know how."

She looked up at him expectantly. Then it hit her. Why hadn't she thought of it before? Why hadn't any of them? How had she let herself become so distracted by this that she couldn't think straight? He was off comm, but there was one obvious place to look for him.

"The cave?" she said, as if she needed confirmation. Superman surprised her by answering negatively.

"No, if he's gone dark like you say he doesn't want us finding him. I know Bruce, he'll not be sitting around waiting for us to show up on his doorstep, not when it sounds like he has plenty to be busy with elsewhere. He might even have cut off his link to the cave. But he'll have told Alfred first. He respects no one more than that man. He's probably more scared of his wrath than facing a hundred Jokers too. And Alfred cares for Bruce like a son. If there's reason to be scared for Bruce, a good one, then Alfred will help us find him. And it sounds like we have a good reason."

Of course. Alfred, Bruce's trusted butler and practically his adoptive father. No one cared more for Bruce Wayne than that man, Diana convinced herself, despite a niggling feeling that that wasn't true.

"It'll be the middle of the night in Gotham, but knowing Alfred he won't mind being woken up for this," Superman went on. "You coming?"

"Yes," Diana answered, perhaps a little too quickly. She had another lead. Every second spent travelling there was a second wasted, so she didn't wait for Superman to lead the way off towards the teleporters. "Let's go."

* * *

"That does indeed sound troubling, Miss Diana," Alfred muttered once Diana had finished the tale for the second time.

She had pretty much just repeated word for word what she had told Clark only minutes ago. Superman had been right; Alfred had not minded being dragged out of bed when he saw Wonder Woman and Superman stood at the front door of Wayne Manor. In fact, it seemed like he hadn't been in bed long enough to have fallen asleep anyway, despite the lateness of the hour. He had even managed to get smartly dressed in time to open the door for them relatively quickly, always at the height of propriety, leading the two into the Manor's sitting room, offering tea to no takers. He had immediately been suspicious as to why they were there, informing them that 'Master Bruce' was not in or reachable at the moment. Diana had felt the need to quickly assure Alfred that – as far as they knew – Bruce was unharmed, but she couldn't assure him that would last and subsequently launched into her story. Now Alfred looked concerned, even through an emotional mask worthy of Batman.

"I must confess I had suspicions," Alfred went on. "I found him accessing records on the Batcomputer of an old _acquaintance_, and then he made contact. He told me he was going to be investigating hints he had heard that trouble was brewing and that he might be gone for several days. Too easily did he turn his patrol of this city over to Master Grayson and Master Drake. Whenever Master Bruce maintains his Batman disguise during daylight I'm worried about what it means he's facing, and what that means for him. Unless, of course, he is guiding the two of you and the Justice League, when I know he has trusted allies to look after him."

"_Guiding _us?" Diana couldn't help but react to that comment. Alfred actually chuckled.

"His words, not mine, I can assure you, Miss. Don't take it the wrong way, though. Master Bruce has always had trust issues, as well as an arrogance to him. The fact that he takes the time to _guide _you instead of devoting every last second of his time to Gotham should tell you how much he respects you all, deep down."

"We know, Alfred," Superman reassured the old butler. "We know Bruce actually has a heart underneath all that armour of his. Somewhere. Can you help us find him? We really feel we need to help him, whether he agrees with that or not."

"Master Bruce often doesn't admit when he needs help, Master Kent," Alfred said with a sigh. It was subtle, but his gaze seemed to then fall on Diana far more than on Superman. "In any walk of his life. Its a shame. I try to encourage him to change, to allow more Bruce in his life than Batman, but be just finds it too difficult to let anyone in enough for them to see the world he lives in every day, especially while in Gotham. I had hoped his time spent working with you might change that, but alas it seems not. Perhaps forcing your help upon him will do the trick."

"So you'll help us?" Diana suddenly asked, excited at how Alfred had finished. Perhaps they were going to find the master of the shadows at last. Perhaps she was going to find him.

"Indeed, Miss," Alfred confirmed with a nod. "The man he was investigating is named Uriah Kincaid. He's an expert in cross-dimensional technology. He's also someone that Batman has had to face before in his protection of Gotham."

Diana would normally thank the old butler, would normally treat him with all the propriety and respect that he showed to everyone else. She was a princess after all, and an honourable, noble one. It was in her character, but right now she was too eager, in too much of a hurry to even think about it. A man Bruce had faced before who dealt in crossing dimensions. That could be something to send Batman off on his solitary quest, given the right circumstances. It could be their answer.

"J'onn, it's Wonder Woman," she was quickly saying into her comm, already having leapt up from her seat. "Track down everything we have on a Uriah Kincaid of Gotham city. Particularly any locations where he could be hiding any cross-dimensional machinery."

"Understood," J'onn's voice crackled back to her. He went silent for a while as he investigated Diana's request on the Watchtower's database. Finally, to Diana's relief, he answered. "There is a warehouse across Gotham that he recently inherited. It is showing extraordinary spikes in power usage for a building that should be inert at this time. It could be indicative of such a device being activated."

Diana quickly turned to look to Superman, who gave her a nod of confirmation, knowing what she was going to say. "Tell GL and Shayera to meet us there. We think we've found Batman and whatever it is he's going after."

She certainly hoped they had. She hoped so very, _very_ much.

* * *

**A/N:**

Thought I ought to stick in a note of thanks for the fandom and reviews I've had so far. You guys make writing even more fun. Cheers buddies. I'll (hopefully) reward you with the next bit in a day or so


	8. Chapter 7: A Distinct Lack of Options

**Chapter 7: A Distinct Lack of Options**

"How much longer?" Batman growled the question. He didn't like interrupting Kincaid while the man worked, but he was starting to think this was taking too long. It wasn't impossible that the League would somehow track him down; he had no doubt that Diana would be looking for him at the very least. If she talked to Alfred and found the link to Kincaid, then they would not have long to wait before the League arrived. If and when they did, Batman knew he would have no choice.

He had already familiarized himself with the warehouse while trailing Kincaid around gathering all the parts for his device. He knew how to defend it, against whatever members of the League might arrive. Perhaps his best weapon was that, for whatever reason, this place had lead built into its walls. If the League did come, they would have to mitigate the maze of corridors to find him, with Superman's x-ray vision useless. That would buy him time. He could take care of the rest.

"Almost there," Kincaid replied with effort, connecting one particularly large cable to what was a fairly hefty machine. He then turned to Batman, rubbing his hands together and then wiping sweat from his brow. He'd been working hard so far. Batman was just too anxious to let up on him. "That's the last piece of the puzzle. I've set it charging. Now I just have to programme it, and that takes a little while, especially with all the extra security features I put in remembering our last meeting. Also, do you know where you're heading for? Because it'll take a lot longer if we have to find your target dimension with trial and error."

Batman drew the paper that Westwood had given him from his utility belt, quickly handing it to Kincaid. "Here. This should tell you how to find the target."

Kincaid studied the paper for a second before nodding. "Yeah, this looks like one of mine. No problem, I'll get right on it."

He stepped away, moving over to a computer console attached to the machinery. They were in what must have been the largest room in the warehouse, somewhere near the building's centre. It was dark despite the lights being on, but then the power from the entire building was now being channelled into the ring of machinery in the centre of the room. It all trailed from floor to ceiling and back again, clearly ready to open a portal in its centre. Kincaid's computer was also attached, ready to programme it. Batman watched as he booted up the computer to begin the process. However, Kincaid suddenly stopped, reaching for something down below the computer.

"Oh, before I forget, you'd probably best take this!" he said in a hurry, handing to Batman a device that looked oddly like an old fashioned walkie-talkie. Batman gave him an enquiring glare, leading Kincaid to quickly explain. "It's a return device. It'll bring you back here whenever you're done in the other dimension, thanks to programming it'll receive when you step through. And don't worry, it's fully charged."

"That's good to know," Batman answered in a way to signal Kincaid to get back to work. It was not long before they were distracted again. A red light had began flashing above the computer console. Batman knew a silent alarm when he saw one.

"Erm... Batman? It looks like your friends are here," Kincaid muttered, leading to Batman to move over and stand by his side, in full view of his screen. He could see the external security camera footage. He could see the people moving in to the warehouse, five people he knew well.

Including the one person he both most and least wanted to see right now. Diana had found him. Damn it, why was she so good?

Kincaid looked up to see Batman's less than happy face. "Is this _not _a good thing?"

"No," Batman gave a snarled answer. "Stay here. Keep working. I'll take care of this." Batman paused just a moment before stepping away, extracting a flash drive from his utility belt and plugging it into the port on Kincaid's computer. He might not have time to do so later.

"What's that?" Kincaid sounded confused, perhaps slightly worried by the latest developments.

"Don't worry about it," Batman answered, though he made no effort to sound reassuring. "It won't effect your work. Just be sure to leave it in. I'll not be happy if you don't."

"You're the boss," Kincaid uttered, mostly under his breath, but he kept working. Even with the possibility of going up against the wishes of the Justice League, he both trusted and feared Batman enough not to question him. With Gothamites like Kincaid, Batman was bigger than the rest of the League combined. Batman did not need to do more to encourage him.

With a flutter of his cape he turned and marched away from that room. Superman, Flash, Green Lantern, Shayera and Wonder Woman were all coming, and he had to stop them from reaching this room until Kincaid could activate his device and Batman could cross dimensions.

And, for Diana, he would do what he had to do. No matter how much it would hurt his other allies.

* * *

They had flown high so that any watchers below in Gotham wouldn't see them, not wanting to give anyone the impression that Batman was gone or in need of aid. They wanted to help him; undoing a lot of his hard work on these citizens wouldn't fit that category. Still, they had flown fast and had not looked back. Wonder Woman was on a mission. She _was _going to find him.

Green Lantern and Shayera were already there and waiting for her and Superman when they landed beside the warehouse J'onn had found. Flash was there waiting for them too. He had clearly decided that the League would need a lot of its Founders present on this one. If they had to talk Batman out of something, it would likely need a lot of reasoning ability, perhaps even something no-one else would think of, something unexpected. That was where Flash was the master.

"So we sure our favourite broody guy's in here?" Flash asked as Wonder Woman touched down, Superman not far behind her. Wonder Woman had to hold back from simply marching inside. She deeply wanted to, but the others would need to know more before they went in.

"We think so," Superman answered, Wonder Woman too tied up with her thoughts to speak. "I don't know how much J'onn's told you, but this place is owned by a man Batman encountered using a dimension travelling device before. We think that that man might have another one in there, and that its somehow linked to what Albert Westwood warned Batman about."

"So whatever this threat is that Deadshot talked about, it could be coming from a different dimension," Green Lantern mused.

"Still doesn't explain why he's shutting everyone else out," Shayera added, half under her breath.

Wonder Woman wanted to hurry them up. What Batman was doing inside and why he was doing it were questions that could wait until they had found him. Surely that was the priority here. He was one of their own. He was _Bruce._ They had to make sure he was all right before worrying about anything else, and to do that they had to go in. Thankfully, she wasn't the only one to realise it.

"Only one way to find that out," Green Lantern countered. "We need to go and find him. Superman, can you see what's happening in there? Can you see Batman?"

Superman took a moment looking at the building with his x-ray vision, but to Wonder Woman's chagrin he was soon shaking his head. "Whoever built this place must have been paranoid or worked with a lot of radioactive material. The walls are all lined with lead. I can't see a thing."

"The old fashioned way it is then," Green Lantern said, clearly taking command. "Come on, lets go take a look around." They were finally moving. Wonder Woman was already bouncing on the balls of her feet before Green Lantern was the first to walk towards the building. She was hot on his heels, still having to hold back from just flying forward and ripping the door off of its hinges. However, they were all soon stopped in their tracks as their comm links all activated simultaneously. A voice filled their ears, _his _voice, but it wasn't what Wonder Woman wanted to hear.

"Justice League, this is Batman. I know you're here. Stay away. I'm handling this alone." He sounded determined, unflinching, still angry. He didn't sound like he was going to back down any time soon. He did sound like he would do what it took to keep them out.

"Batman, this is Superman," the Kryptonian was first to respond. "We're here to help you. Tell us what's happening. You don't have to do this all by yourself. Whatever this thing is you've been warned about, we can all stop it together. As a team."

"I said stay away, Kent," Batman's voice returned, if anything even firmer than before, even grittier. It was the same voice he used when addressing super-criminals during interrogations. It was the voice he used when dealing with his enemies. What was wrong with him? Wonder Woman had to know. She _had_ to help him. "The League _cannot _be involved. Leave. Now. This is your last warning."

"Batman, listen..." Superman began to argue again, but they all heard the tell-tale sign of the line going dead. Batman had gone again. Wonder Woman felt her worries increase ten-fold in that single moment. Around her, the rest of the League just looked at each other.

"We're still going in right?" Shayera was the first asking the question. She definitely wouldn't want to run from a fight.

"I think we need to even more than we did before," Superman answered her, sounding none to happy himself.

"Wait, guys," Flash added, looking nervous. "I'm not the only one who thought Bats sounded pissed, am I? I mean, more pissed than normal. Do we really want him getting that angry at _us_?"

They all stopped for a moment at that one. They were all more powerful than Batman, all stronger in their own way. They also all knew that Batman could hurt them all if he wanted too. Badly. Worse, they could all tell from the way Batman had spoken that he was definitely prepared to hurt them now, even if they were his allies. For Wonder Woman, that meant more than ever that they had to find him.

"Yes," she answered simply, emotionlessly, doing nothing to calm the nerves as she finally spoke up. They were probably right to be nervous. She certainly was. "We don't have a choice."

This time she didn't wait for any of the others to lead the way inside. She marched forward, slamming the door open. She hadn't ripped it off its hinges, but she had almost smashed it to pieces. However, the sight that met her inside was not helpful, stopping Wonder Woman in her short-lived tracks.

"Okaaay... So what do we do now?" Flash asked the question, being the quickest to follow her in, though the others were not far behind. There were at least five corridors before them, and with Superman unable to see where Batman was, there was no way of knowing which way they had to go.

"Split up," Green Lantern said as if it was obvious. "We take a corridor each. We find Batman. Now."

Flash didn't look too happy. The thought of potentially having to go up against Batman as a group had made him nervous. The thought of possibly taking him on alone was clearly much worse. His way to cope was clearly to do what he was so good at. Without another word, Flash ran off, selecting a corridor to be his one to investigate.

No more was said between the rest of them. They all chose a corridor and all used there respective flying abilities to go tearing down them, fast. Batman had to be found. Unfortunately, it wasn't long before he showed without doubt that he was going to try to prevent that.

All the lights suddenly died. The last thing Wonder Woman saw before they did was the series of blast doors closing around her. Lots of them, even if they would be easy for her to smash her way through. And that wasn't it. Not only was her path suddenly shrouded in darkness and blocked off, but the noise filled it too. It was debilitating. It made her head feel like it was splitting. That in turn made her unable to continue her flight, even in the darkness. She crashed down into the floor, holding her head as if it would help the pain.

It didn't. The sound was endless, and so was the agony. However, so was something else; her need to reach Bruce. And that need was stronger. She forced herself through the pain and to her feet, realising in that second an extra effect of the darkness and the sound. She had no means to light her path, and she had no idea whether she was still facing the same way as she had been before. Batman had not come to fight her, but he had disoriented her senses, as well as slowing her with those doors.

Wonder Woman would not give up. She never did, and Batman would know that. But what he had done was slow her down, making it so it would take her a long time to find her way onwards, whether or not this was even the right corridor to reach him.

Wonder Woman hoped that with Batman having taken such a delaying tactic that she would reach him before his need for such a delay was done. Knowing Batman, the chances of that were slim. Perhaps the others were now the best chance of reaching him in time, but Wonder Woman was not about to risk losing Bruce over failing to act herself. Unlike the rest she had no clear way to light her path. The best she could do was to scrape her bracelets together with enough strength to cause a spark. It only lasted briefly, but it was enough to point her in the direction of the first blast door she had to smash through.

And there would be many more to follow until she could reach Batman.

* * *

Flash ran. He couldn't go that fast – well, not for his normal speeds – because of the twists of his chosen corridor as well as the various stairs he found himself going up and down. He had not run into Batman yet, and he was slightly glad of it. He was no coward, but Batman could definitely scare him. He had no idea what was going on, but he knew Batman's 'don't-cross-me voice' when he heard it. Flash didn't think for a second that Bats had gone bad; he was the _dark _knight but he always fought the bad guys. But then that wasn't why the League was here and risking Bats' wrath. They were here to help him out, whatever he was going solo against. Bats might be able to scare Flash, but he was still a friend, and Flash stood by his friends. Even if he didn't seem to be doing so as much as Wonder Woman...

If he thought he had been going slow before, when all the dim lights suddenly went out completely Flash was forced to go even slower. It brought him to a stop, in fact. It wouldn't need Bats to hurt him if he ran straight into a lead-lined wall at his speeds. He'd do enough damage himself, and he had no means to light his way. Perhaps he needed to get himself a utility belt, or at least a torch. Some kind of Flash-light. That brought a smile to his lips.

Still moving onwards, Flash knew instantly that it must have been Batman blinding them all. He had warned them not to come after him. This was his first way of ensuring it.

Up ahead Flash could see a faint crack of light. Through an ajar door he could spot a window with a street light on the other side. It was the best he could do right now, and not having the endless streams of back-up plans like Batman would have done, Flash headed over there to at least see _something_. He could take things from there.

He never made it that far. It came hurtling from above before he knew it, having never heard a sound until it was too late. Even with the speed of the Flash he had no time to react. By the time he heard the gas around him he had already breathed some in. Flash tried to run, but he only ran straight into Batman's outstretched arm. It clotheslined him, breaking his nose in the process.

Flash was still conscious, but he had simply fallen back into the gas. After just the first breath of it Flash had become woozy, knowing it must be anaesthetic. This time he wasn't just woozy, even if breathing through his nose was suddenly not so easy. This time Flash was down. He didn't even have time to think how he felt that Batman had _actually _done this to him.

The last thing he saw from the faint light of that distant street light was Batman's cape billowing behind the man as he went off after the others, not even sparing Flash a second glance after gassing and striking him. Flash's last thought before blacking out was to hope that Batman wouldn't manage to surprise the rest as he had him, and of just how unlikely that really was.

* * *

Shayera flew down her corridor of choice. The lights all going out was only an inconvenience for her. The energy rippling around her mace could light her way and, not travelling at super-speeds to begin with, she hardly even needed to slow down.

Batman and her had never really gotten that close, but then Batman hardly got close to anybody. It had begun to change recently thanks to missions they had worked together, notably the Carter Hall situation, but then he had gone and refused to tell her about the future son John had told her of. His claim that not knowing the future would be best for her, as well as being the best way to ensure it came to fruition, had not been appreciated then, no matter how good his intentions were. A few days later Shayera could admit that in his own way Batman had been helping her, but they still had a way to go before _close _was a relevant word.

Superman was the obvious exception. John could be classed as another. After Shayera's realisation the other day, Wonder Woman was the less obvious one when viewed in terms of exactly how close she and the Batman had become. In fact, the real reason Shayera was so engaged in the hunt for Batman was _for _Wonder Woman. Her good friend needed Batman back at her side and for Shayera, who had learned the full importance of friendship the hard way, that took precedence in her reasoning over just helping out a colleague who didn't even want their assistance.

And of course there was this whole 'end of the world' thing hanging over their heads. Shayera knew full well that Batman was not to be trifled with, by _anybody_. She had investigated him thoroughly in the lead up to the Thanagarian invasion, after all, learning all she could about the man, his past and his exploits. But she also knew that if there was a threat bad enough to be classed as world threatening, she didn't want stopping it left up to just one man, even if it was Batman. This was the only world she really had left these days, and even then finding acceptance was hard. She couldn't lose the Earth too.

She flew on, gliding up the centre of a stairwell she found herself at without touching down on any of the steps, heading right to the top. She flew over the banister, faced by a sealed blast door before her. That wouldn't stop her long. Holding her mace high and with a growl of effort, she slammed the door wide open, crumpling the heavy metal with ease.

It was because of that metal that he was able to surprise her. It gave him the shadows to act from. As she flew through the hole she had created and before she could stop it, Shayera's mace was suddenly ripped from her hands. In the same flash of motion, a hard kick slammed into her side. She was sent spinning against the wall, hitting it with a thud. Rapidly she forced herself back up again, but in the low ceilinged, narrow corridor her advantage of flight was pretty much void.

She saw as Batman tossed her mace aside, an act which threw the light away from himself. Shayera flew forward, a pre-emptive strike to stop him attacking her as he was clearly prepared to do. Her intention was to knock him off his feet, to stop himfrom fighting for long enough that she could actually try to talk him down, to find out what had happened to make him feel he had to be alone to the extent he was attacking the Justice League. However, without the light of the mace to help her the effort was futile, especially against the master of shadows.

Batman managed to step away from her punch with ease, his cowl allowing him sight she lacked. Not only did Batman dodge, though, but with expert use of strength he grabbed her attack arm and spun her around, sending Shayera spinning back through the smashed blast door and, with gravity's help, crashing all the way back down the stairwell. She only just managed to stop herself with her wings before she smashed down to earth.

Batman, though, was not done. He leapt after her from the top of the stairs, crashing down into her with all his weight. She threw her arms up to protect herself, but could still feel at least one rib and a collar bone crack as he slammed her down into the nearby floor. With his weight pinning her down, there was nothing she could do to stop him dropping some of his anaesthetic gas bombs. Her brief glimpse of him earlier had shown Shayera that Batman had a gas mask on, and she knew now that her struggling was futile. She would have colourfully cursed at her defeat at Batman's hands if she wasn't coughing on the gas that was instantly making her faint.

Seconds later she was out cold, and Batman was gone. Gone to take out another of the League before they could get in his way, no doubt. Shayera's last thought before passing out: _What the _hell _is going on?!_

* * *

John Stewart's power ring was more than just a weapon. Right now, it was his guiding light and his transportation, showing him the way as he flew onwards around dark, twisting corridors as fast as he could go. John Stewart had spent his adult life either as a Marine or a Green Lantern who was also a key part of the Justice League. He was a man who knew full well the importance of teamwork, perhaps the member of the League who knew it best. He liked Batman, even for all his lack of social skills. John could definitely respect all the good Batman did for the world, even if his methods weren't what the League would ever encourage the other heroes to utilise. John also felt at times that he understood the man beneath the Bat, at least to a decent degree. He hadn't had the same kind of trauma to make him do the things Bruce did, but being a Green Lantern had given him an insight into the kind of willpower that Bruce Wayne so often displayed, so often _needed_ to fight all the many super-powered, maniacal foes. Hell, John had gotten to understand Bruce so well he had figured out how he felt about Diana where even Superman was blind. But John also knew all about Batman's fear of letting people into his life, and all the darkness that surrounded him because of that.

But despite all of that understanding he had, John Stewart could not comprehend why Batman was so determined to work alone right now. Yes, he had done plenty of good solo for Gotham, ditto while on some League assignments, but he had never threatened the League to stay away in the face of a global threat, not like he was doing now. The simplistic answer was that it was because they were in Gotham. Unless the League was absolutely needed, Batman made them stay away from his city, but this couldn't be that simple. From everything they had learned, this definitely seemed like a case when the League was needed in Gotham, what with the whole world apparently at stake and all. The Batman John understood would at least have told them what he was doing, even if he did demand they stayed away. He wouldn't outright refuse to talk to the extent he threatened them. Especially with Diana with them. No, something had Batman seriouslyworried to make him react like this. Being alone was Batman's defence mechanism, his way of protecting himself and the people he cared about. Considering that it was the League that Batman was so determined to shut out, and how proven the League was in battle against all sorts of foes, John could only think that there was something really bad coming to threaten _them_. The more he thought about it, the more he regained his understanding of the Batman. The more he thought about it, the more he realised that it wouldn't be the whole Justice League Batman was worried about.

"Damn," John growled to himself as he convinced himself fully. That was not a good thought, and if it was right, then there might be nothing Batman would hold back from. Perhaps he might even break his one rule to stop it happening...

John had to reach Batman now. He had to take some of this burden off of Batman for his own sake. If Batman believed that whatever this threat was would kill Diana, then to stop it he might do things he could never forgive himself for, or things he could never come back from.

John rounded another bend and had to stop in a hurry, but he was too late. The light he was projecting forward with his ring had at first illuminated and then slammed into the man who was stood down the corridor. John saw in the green illumination as Batman was knocked off his feet by the sudden impact. John quickly drew back the light so that it was only coming from a small circle around the rings front, just to make sure he didn't hurt his friend again. From the floor, Batman was not about to attack him as he had threatened to do if the League came inside the warehouse. Besides, John knew he could shield himself before Batman could do anything anyway.

"Batman!" John exclaimed at the sight of Bruce before him, his face, lit green, grim and looking more set than stone as he pushed himself back up to his elbows. "We've been looking all over for you. Listen, we need to talk. I think I've figured out what's going on."

He offered Batman a hand back up to his feet. It was too late before he realised his mistake, especially as Batman accepting the offered hand had made him think that Bruce was willing to talk. Batman was on his feet before John realised he had offered him his ring hand. John quickly tried to pull it away, knowing Batman had multiple skills, including some he had picked up from those criminals that he so often dealt with. He wasn't quick enough. The green glow of his ring suddenly died as it lay in Batman's palm. Batman had set a trap for Lantern, and he had fallen right into it.

"Batman, wait!" John shouted quickly into the darkness, trying to stop Batman doing what John was sure he would do next. "I know what must be happening to make you act like this. Whatever this threat is, we can stop it before it gets to our world, before it gets to _Diana_! Just wait and let's talk about this."

John didn't expect it to work. When Batman's mind was made up, it was very, _very _rarely changed. Batman speaking made him get his hopes up. He was wrong to allow that.

"I can't take that chance," Batman's signature growl came through the darkness. "The only way I can be sure is to do this alone. Don't try to follow me John."

Once again John got his hopes up as Batman finished. Not about convincing Batman not to do this alone, John knew he had failed in that respect. From the time since they had entered the building, maybe some of the others had too. Maybe they were all taken care off. No, what John had hoped for now was that taking his ring would be enough for Batman. He had been injured before in his life so he wasn't worried about Batman knocking him out. He just thought it would signify that Batman wasn't as close to the edge as John feared if he left him standing, powerless. His hopes, once again, wound up dashed.

John was originally a marine and well trained to fight without his ring, but not against the Batman, and not in the darkness. He didn't even hear Batman get behind him. There was definitely nothing he could do once Batman got him in the sleeper hold. John didn't even bother to fight it under the strength of Batman's hold. Shortly later, he was unconscious.

And Batman was still standing.

* * *

His various optical abilities may have stopped him from locating Batman in this maze of a warehouse, but right now they were at least allowing Superman to see where he was going in the darkness. His super hearing was helping him too. Through the walls, Superman had heard the voices of Batman and GL. He didn't even bother looking for an actual way around. Even lead lined walls were simply like paper under the strength of Superman. He soon had his way smashed through, following those voices, using them as a guide. When he got there, he didn't like what he saw.

From everything he had seen so far, he knew something was wrong with Batman, that he was acting even angrier and as more of a loner than he usually did. Superman had also convinced himself that no matter what, he knew how Batman would react, after all they had been through together in the past, after how well he felt he knew his friend. He knew that Batman hadn't lied to them over the comm. Something was making it so Bruce would try to stop them from preventing him doing this alone.

But Superman had not expected Batman to actually assault fellow members of the Justice League, not when they hadn't gone rogue, when they were still on the side of justice and good. Yet what he was seeing now was irrefutable. Batman dropped the unconscious form of Green Lantern at his feet, releasing him from his hold. Superman's jaw dropped in shock.

"I told you not to come in here, Clark," Batman growled without turning around to the floating form of Superman behind him.

Superman didn't know what to say. He couldn't speak. He was thinking he was seeing the unthinkable; Batman had turned on them. His best friend had turned on the Justice League... But no, that couldn't be it. Not Batman. He was more determined than any of them. He might be the one perpetually close to the line between good and evil, but he was also the one that Superman knew without a doubt couldnever cross that line. Not ultimately, not without subsequently being unable to live with himself. No, this must be something to do with his mission, this mystery threat. Whatever it was, it must be incredibly dangerous, for all of them. All the more reason for Batman not to go up against it without help.

"I hope you know that I have no choice now," Batman continued while Superman's mind was catching up. He sounded almost apologetic. Almost.

Superman only just comprehended what that meant when he saw Batman draw the green rock from his belt, from a lead lined pouch. Kryptonite. The pain was instant, debilitating. Already Superman could feel his powers weakening, some almost gone. And yet he did not try to fight back, even as he was forced to hunch over by the pain. He knew Batman would not kill him. He would not hurt his friend, not when he was still sure that Batman was still one of the good guys, despite how..._unhappy_ he was with Bruce right now.

And he was still his friend. For now...

"I know you won't understand. But right now I can't allow your boy scout ways to interfere. I can't risk it," Batman went on as he continued to hold the Kryptonite close to Superman. He clearly wasn't going to back down until Superman was out of commission for as long as he needed, not as Superman was not about to stand back and let Batman risk so much to do this alone. Being unwilling to fight back, though, Superman knew that there was nothing for him left to do but fall under Batman's attack, just as GL had. He would never talk Bruce down. He would try, but it wouldn't work. At least Batman was now sounding more like his usual reasoning self. That was an upside.

For Superman, seeing the upside didn't last. He wouldn't fight back, but that didn't mean he was happy having to just take this. He couldn't be. The pain was intense, and it was coming at the hands of his dear friend and ally. Before he knew it, Batman was not only weakening Superman with the Kryptonite, but also began pounding him with his fists, Superman's invulnerability down due to rock in Batman's hand. The pain was more intense at the pounding fist, and every attempt he made to talk Batman down was met simply by another punch to silence him and knock him out quicker. Superman had to fight down his anger right to the minute he blacked out, every word he got out to try and talk Batman around simply left ignored.

When this was all over, Bruce would have a _lot _of explaining to do.

* * *

Batman left the rock of Kryptonite near Superman when he was sure his friend was actually down and out, just as John was only a few steps away. He knew the strengths of Superman, knew just how hard it was to beat him and keep him beat. The rock was his insurance policy, his means of keeping Superman out of action until Kincaid could open up the cross-dimensional machine. Green Lantern would wake up long before it killed Superman. Until then, the Kryptonian would have to remain unconscious and then would have to put up with the longer lasting pains. Like he had said, Batman couldn't risk Superman being here, not awake at least_. _He couldn't allow Kent to know what he was doing. More than anyone, Superman would insist on halting his lone quest and bringing the entire Justice League into the fold, especially Diana.

And for her safety, Diana _could not know_.

She was the only member of the League there that Batman had not taken down. He had done all he could to slow her, but Batman could not bring himself to hurt Diana, even to help her. He had been able to hurt the rest _for _her protection, but not her. Never her. He could just hope that he had done enough to stop her reaching him in time.

Having learnt the corridors and the potential defence systems earlier as he had followed Kincaid around, Batman had no trouble in finding his way back to the main chamber around all the seals he had put in place, making just one quick stop on the way to deposit Green Lantern's ring somewhere where John could find it once he was gone. Batman was grateful that the previous owner of the building had clearly had a security fetish; it had helped him greatly to keep the League at bay. He also knew it would have helped to keep Kincaid in if it had had to. Thankfully, as he got back into that main room, Batman saw that there had been no need for that. Kincaid hadn't left the console. More, it seemed he was just about done with it.

"Batman!" Kincaid exclaimed at the sight of the dark knight coming back through the door, looking up from his screens and talking in a hurry. He didn't ask what had happened to the Justice League. Either he had been watching, or he just didn't want to know. "You're just in time. The device is ready to be activated whenever you want me to hit the button. I've got your target dimension all locked in. And I didn't touch your flash drive, just as you said! Have you still got your return device? You'll need it to get back home after you've saved the world again."

"I've got it," Batman growled, not even looking at Kincaid, instead sparing a glance to indeed check the USB was still in the computer. "Turn the machine on. Its time for me to go."

"Alright. Stand back then," Kincaid immediately announced as the order was given. Batman did as he was told. Kincaid waited no longer before hitting the button.

The flow of power was incredible. Batman could hear it, almost like thunder through the wiring, sparks instantly flying. For a second he thought the fuses were going to blow. Then he saw the light appearing between the circumference of equipment before him. Soon a whole cross section of the room was filled with the shimmering light, looking almost like it was rippling its way towards them in the darkness.

The cross dimensional portal was open. Batman had his path to potentially save the world, or else lose so much more.

He did not wait before stepping forwards towards it, did not wait for Kincaid to say anything else. He made it right to the threshold before he heard her shout.

"Batman!" Diana's voice screamed out, full of dread at the sight of him before the portal. Batman could not help himself. He stopped to looked back at her over his shoulder. He had slowed her down enough, but only just. Come to think of it, though, considering how he could well not make it back from this, he was glad to get this one last chance to see her again. Even with all the worry etched throughout her entire being, she still looked so perfect. She didn't say more than she had with that initial shout, seemingly hopeful that seeing her, seeing her fear, would be enough to stop him from going. If anything it just made him need to go more. He said the only thing his mind would let him, despite the screams of his heart to say so much more.

"I'm sorry, Princess."

And then he stepped through into the other dimension, and to what awaited him on the other side


	9. Chapter 8: Confusion Never Stops

**Chapter 8: Confusion Never Stops**

Wonder Woman flung herself forwards at full speed, soaring through the air. Bruce had gone. She recognised the cross-dimensional portal when she saw it, remembering their encounter with the Justice Lords. Wherever he had just gone, she had to go after him too... _to help him_. But even Flash wouldn't have been quick enough. The instant Batman stepped through it, the portal disappeared. Wonder Woman only just stopped herself from flying straight into the wall beyond where it had been.

"Oh, Hera..." she muttered when she turned back around. This wasn't good. It was more than just the portal closing. There were more sparks flying out of the machinery that had created the portal than there were raindrops in a monsoon. The man who she had ignored until then was having to dive away from his computer to avoid getting set alight by it. Within seconds, all that was left of the machinery was some smouldering remains.

It was obvious that the only means she had of chasing Batman was gone, but she was hardly thinking clearly right then. Her warrior instincts kicked in, her need to fight. That other man was just scrambling to his feet when Wonder Woman flung herself at him, sending him sprawling and crashing against the wall of the room. This was his fault, it had to be. He had taken Batman from her. He had to pay.

"What did you do to him?!" she screamed, flying forward with her fist ready to smash the man's teeth in. The man flung his arms up in front of his face, as if that could actually protect him.

"I didn't do anything to him!" the man screamed in panic, a mad panic. Wonder Woman halted her fist mere millimetres from the man's face, her own contorted in rage. "I just did what he asked! I thought I was helping save people! I didn't do anything to him!"

"Explain!" Wonder Woman growled. Combined with her angry look, it was an interrogation worth of Batman himself. Just to be sure though, she flung her lasso around this man, pulling it tight. She would not risk him lying to her, not when these answers could mean _everything _to her.

"He came to me!" the man quickly complied. "My name's Uriah Kincaid. Batman knew me. We'd... met before. He stopped me using other dimensions to get the money for my daughter's hospital bills, but he gave me the money instead. He saved my daughter's life without making me have to risk the world! I owed Batman everything. I wouldn't do anything to hurt him. He came to me. He needed a cross-dimensional portal, and he knew I could build him one. He told me he was facing an end of the world crisis, so I helped him!"

"If you want to help him, then send me after him!" Wonder Woman roared again. She was desperate. This was her best, if not only, chance of going after Bruce. Who else did she know with one of these devices just sat around waiting for her to use it? No one she could think of.

"I... I can't!" Kincaid stammered the words, as if fearing the consequences of them. When Wonder Woman didn't punch a hole through his head, he explained. "That was my only machine. Batman plugged something into it. It must have been some sort of self-destruct programming, but he told me not to touch it, so I didn't. There's no fixing it now, and I don't have the parts for a new one."

"Can you get some?" Wonder Woman quickly asked. "I have to go after Batman. It's vital."

Kincaid shook her head. Wonder Woman felt herself virtually drop. "It'd take me weeks, even with official help form your Justice League. Please, I thought I was just helping. Please let me go. I have a young family. I didn't know Batman was going to do what he did to you and the League!"

Wonder Woman didn't have to ask more to know that Kincaid did not know or understand anything more about the situation than he had already told her. His last statement had made it clear that he thought the reason Wonder Woman was so angry at him was that she had been hunting Batman for what he had done to prevent the League reaching him before he was gone, not the fact that she needed to, and had failed, to get to him. To save him.

"What did he do to them?" she forced herself to ask, but the conviction was gone from her voice. She was concerned for her other friends, but she knew that even if Batman had hurt them, he wouldn't have killed them. That meant virtually all of her concern remained with the man who had just disappeared.

"I'm not sure exactly, but you probably ought to go and check on them all," Kincaid answered. "Please. Just let me go."

"No," Wonder Woman growled again. This guy might not be a villain, but it was because of him that she had failed to reach Batman. It was _his fault_. He had to pay. "You possessed an illegal device, you're under arrest."

Kincaid didn't have a chance to react – other than with a horrified look – before Wonder Woman had him on the floor and bound him, tying him around the wrists and then against a pipe on the wall with her lasso so he could not escape. He sounded like he was about to argue more, but Wonder Woman did not wait to let him. She couldn't hear more from him right now. She flew off deep into the warehouse again, looking for the other Leaguers. She knew that, the way Batman had been acting in the last few hours, they could well be in a bit of a mess. Perhaps helping _them _would make her feel better.

She sincerely doubted it though.

* * *

He had said he was sorry. Diana had time to think about it now, now that her anger had had a chance to dissipate. It had gone, but it had been replaced by a deep sorrow that she did not really understand. Batman was acting oddly, he had seemingly abandoned the League, but he was still alive and in one _physical_ piece, and so was everyone else, just about. Green Lantern was fine once he had awoken, finding Batman had deposited his ring only a short distance away, albeit hidden, from where he had lain unconscious. Shayera had had to be patched up somewhat, Flash had a broken nose and Superman had needed time to recover from his exposure to the Kryptonite, but what was most hurt was their respective pride over Batman having brought them all down so quickly.

But Bruce had said he was sorry to her. About what it wasn't clear, but Diana got the feeling that, with it being so directed at her, it was sorrow about how he had caused her to feel right now. Bruce never normally said sorry. Admittedly he rarely had reason to, at least in his own eyes. The only people he normally mistreated were criminals, not the type of people Batman would ever feel guilt about hurting. Yes, he was often cold to his friends and if he had been anybody else he would likely have said sorry for that, but this was Bruce. He wasn't anybody else. He was one of a kind. Being cold was his way of holding it all together in the long term, his coping mechanism after what he'd been through as a kid. Diana understood that. She just wished that, at times, he could open himself up for her, could show her the real Bruce that was the halfway point between the Batman and Bruce Wayne. The fact that he had actually said sorry, and to her, seemed like he had done just that.

And that just made her all the more sorrowful that she hadn't managed to stop him going to face this threat so angry and alone.

The Founders had gathered on the Watchtower as soon as everyone had recovered. Diana knew the rest of the League could tell that something was wrong without even needing to really look at them. Just the aura around the Watchtower was enough to make it clear. It was like every other member of the League and the Watchtower's civilian population were trying to stay out of their way, almost _avoiding _them.

They had enough clues that things were far from perfect with their seven idols. The simple fact that Batman was so obviously missing was the first one. Yes, as a part timer it was hardly rare that Batman would not be among them, but the rumours had already spread that Batman had gone off on his own and the League couldn't track him down. No doubt that was from Flash gossiping before he knew the extent of the problem, not understanding Batman as Diana and some of the others did. She didn't blame Flash. She just wished that the people wouldn't stare when she walked past as if she was about to break down at any second. Of course it didn't help that so many of the League's Founder's were bruised and battered. Flash didn't need to gossip this time for there to be rumours that Batman was the cause.

That, for the others, made this meeting of the Founders all the more urgent. For Diana, things couldn't be more urgent than they were already. Her mission was unchanged. She still had to reach Batman before it was too late. Just because he was a lot further away, that wasn't going to change. It just made her task a whole lot more difficult.

"Before I say anything here, I want to hear each of your opinions on this," Superman said as soon as the door closed behind the final Founder entering the conference room, not even waiting for them to take their seats. Kal considered Batman as his best friend. Of course he was feeling betrayed right now, a hurt beyond the physical of what Batman had done to him, even if he had _allowed_ Batman to beat him as he had.

"I think my nose still hurts," Flash muttered first, seemingly fighting with himself as to whether he should feel the afflicted area. His comment was left ignored for now.

"He's lost it," Shayera chipped in. Her anger was evident. It was how she was, a woman with her heart on her sleeve as well as one who didn't react well to being beaten in any kind of fight, let alone one that left her as battered as this one had. Diana knew that her friend held no outright ill will towards Batman, but under the circumstances she also found it hard to argue with Shayera's point, especially with Bruce explaining nothingto her. Hera, if she wasn't so worried she would still be angry with him herself. If this was _anyone _but Bruce, she knew that anger would definitely be her strongest emotion right now. "Even for Batman that was dark. No one let me forget that I owe him a whack from my mace whenever he comes back."

"Now wait a second!" John Stewart interrupted, even if it was Shayera he was interrupting. His current awkwardness when talking with her these days was forgotten given the situation. Nevertheless, the was still something slightly amiss with how John spoke. "I admit his methods aren't what any one else we know would take. They're extreme. They hurt _us_. But this is Batman we're talking about. That man does nothing that he doesn't feel is necessary for the good of the world. He'll have is reasons for doing what he did. Now I'm not saying it was right–" John quickly stressed that part as Superman, Shayera and Flash all gave him an almost betrayed look – "but what I'm saying is that we don't know the full story. Batman did warn us not to follow him. There might well be a good reason why the rest of us couldn't go with him."

"Then why didn't he explain it?" Shayera argued in a raised voice, staring hard at GL. Diana was suddenly suspicious that the argument was becoming an excuse for those two to get out some much needed shouting at each other. That was only one of the reasons why she was already itching to leave this meeting, but she would see it through for a little bit longer at least. "Why not talk to us when he had us all on the comm beforewe even went inside? Why not explain it to us all in turn when he got us pinned down one by one? Turn us around instead of doing _that_. He didn't have to smash my ribs, or Flash's nose, or choke you, or assault Superman with Kryptonite, or..."

She paused to look at Diana as if she had forgotten how Bruce had harmed her to stop her reaching him. In truth, apart from some temporary splitting eardrums, Diana had been left completely uninjured. She knew that if Bruce had wanted to he could probably have brought her down as he had the others. Diana was confident that she would have been _his_ toughest opponent, not having a Kryptonite of her own to weaken her, but Batman always found a way. Yet he hadn't tried. Perhaps he couldn't bring himself to. Perhaps there was a lot more that he hadn't told her... Perhaps she should actually be trying to find a new way to track him down instead of wasting time in this stupid meeting!

"None of us can know why he did that," she said instead of answering Shayera, having to force her usual commanding voice into place. If this meeting would accomplish anything, Diana was determined that it would be to calm people down and avoid Bruce being cast out by the League and branded a rogue hoodlum. "But I agree with John. We need to know more before we can start condemning Batman. We've made the mistake before of judging one of the Founders of the Justice League too early."

She said that last part very deliberately. Diana wasn't happy about having to remind Shayera the loneliness caused by her role in the Thanagarian invasion of Earth, but Shayera was seemingly Bruce's biggest doubter at this table and it was Diana's best weapon to stop her verbal assault on Batman. Shayera indeed seemed to back down, sinking slightly into her chair and letting someone else take up the reigns of the discussion.

"I also agree," J'onn spoke for the first time. As the only one of them who hadn't been at that warehouse, the Martian was best placed to give the objective, unbiased answer. Diana was glad he seemed to be on her...on _Batman's_ side. "I detected no wholesale change to Batman's mental state prior to when this all began with the encounter with Deadshot in Central City. He has not, Shayera, _lost it_. Whatever this new threat he is facing is, it must have been the cause for him turning on you all as he did in Gotham. I see only one possible solution to this. In his own way, Batman harmed you to protect you from something worse down the line."

"But that's not how we do things!" Superman argued, matching Shayera's earlier disgruntled tone. Looking at him now, Diana could see why Bruce often saw Kal as just an innocent boy scout, albeit an incredibly powerful one. At the same time, she felt sorry for him, suffering the confusion and anger over what his friend had done to him. Or at least she would have done if she wasn't burdened with so much confusion of her own. "There's a reason we all came together as a permanent League instead of just banding together when things turned bleak. Its so that when there are threats like the one that's supposedly out there we handle them together, _as a group_. That way we can best handle them, and best protect one another while we do it. We're a team, allies, _friends_. If a mission is best solved alone, we talk it through beforehand and mitigate. We don't assault other members of the Justice League!"

"Bats does," Flash muttered under his breath, again ignored with his unhelpful comment.

"You've known Batman longer than any of us," GL pointed out with a shrug at Superman. "You should know by now that he's not like the rest of us. Don't forget he's a Gothamite – you can't grow up in that place and always play by the rest of the world's rules. I say we need to wait until he's back and then give him the chance to explain himself. Also allow for heads to get a bit cooler around _here_. Don't forget how often Batman's done things to save all of our butts before that the rest of us wouldn't even think of as options. I've just got the feeling that this is another one of those, that he's protecting _us_, and knowing Batman, so long as he saves the day he'll accept whatever the consequences of his actions may be."

"Agreed," Flash finally spoke in a manner that meant his comment was worth listening too. "Bats deserves that much, even if I'm next in the queue to whack him when Shayera's done. Its not like we've seen the last of him. Bats is too stubborn not to come back _sometime_, even if he isn't quick enough to stop what he's gone after first."

"Agreed," Superman finally relented too. No doubt he wanted to earlier if not for all the emotions raging around the room. He almost certainly wanted to find a way to forgive Bruce for what he did, but to do that he would need answers and for that, Diana knew, they would need Bruce back.

Shayera was nodding from her own seat as well. Diana could tell that this wasn't the end of it all. When Batman came back, it would all be brought up again. He might even do well to remain in the Justice League at the end of the day. To be honest though, Diana didn't care about that in that moment. She just wanted him to come back. She needed him to come back. She might know Bruce better than most after all their time spent together, might know how competent he was against any foe more than most, but she couldn't hold back the sense of worry that she maybe wouldn't be seeing Batman again. He had said sorry; maybe he had known that he _wasn't_ coming back. No, she couldn't think like that. She had to keep up the hope, for herself and for Bruce. She had to believe in him. She had to believe he was going to survive this as he had survived everything else, even if he still wouldn't explain things to her afterwards.

"So what're we doing about this whole _end of the world _thing?" Flash moved things along. "I know Bats could well end up having sorted it already, but what do we do if he hasn't?"

"From what I understand, whatever Albert Westwood had discovered must be from a different dimension," J'onn took control now. As League co-ordinator, this was his time to lead things. "Without knowing what dimension this threat is coming from, or possessing the means to travel there, or even being able to ask Albert Westwood what the threat _is_, there is not a lot we can do. The whole League should be kept on high alert, ready for any level of worldwide danger at a moments notice. The Watchtower's sensors shall be set to focus for any signs of a dimensional rift anywhere on or around the Earth. And we should resume the hunt for Albert Westwood – Shayera and Green Lantern, as you started that task you can resume it. Take the Question and Green Arrow to help you search in ways beyond your own methods. I can think of nothing beyond these measures that would be helpful at this time."

"Right," Superman agreed with J'onn's plan, still sounding like the Batman issue wasn't resolved. Superman was the Leaguer Batman trusted the most – without the possible exception of Diana – and she knew the same could be said with the two men's names reversed. She knew deep down that Kal would accept Batman back eventually. He was too good a man to hold a grudge against another good man, even if they did things differently. It just might take some time after Batman had unleashed the Kryptonite he was only meant to have as a precaution in case Superman inexplicably broke from the path of good. "We'll get to it then, as J'onn suggested. GL, Shayera, if you need any further assistance I'll be happy to accompany you, scan Westwood's home with my x-ray vision in case there's something you can't see. I've found things before that even Batman's missed that way and I thi–"

He didn't get interrupted as such, but he was still cut off by a fellow Founder's action. It was Diana's. She had heard enough. Now that everything seemed settled and things were just wrapping up, she didn't want to hear any more. The bad thoughts were still stuck in her head. The thoughts of Bruce dying, or worse, facing this threat. The thoughts of never seeing him again. The thoughts of being alone. And the odd mix of anger and grief that came with it all.

She couldn't sit there any more with all that going on in her head. She'd end up smashing the table to shreds in frustration, just as she had with those droids in the training room. She had to get out of there, right that instant, and so she had not waited for the meeting to end or for Kal to issue any kind of dismissal for them all. She simply stood, and walked away.

At first she didn't know where she was going once she was out of the conference room. She was glad, though, that no-one seemed to be following her, hearing the sounds of the door to the conference room sealing behind her as she left. For a while she just marched down the corridor. Once again everyone else she saw there seemed to try to melt into the walls to avoid her, or they cast her querying looks as if they knew something was wrong. She ignored them all.

Soon afterwards, she had come up with a plan. Right now there was only one place she could go, she now knew. It worked so often for him when he had feelings to vent, and it did seem like the place would be in need of guarding for a while.

And perhaps, while she was there, she could try to figure some things out, if only her mind would settle to let her. Damn, she needed Bruce to come back.

* * *

Superman had made to go after Diana the moment comprehension had struck that she was walking away from the meeting. From the look on his face, it was clear that he was yet to understand why she was acting like this. Flash looked confused too, but J'onn and GL both seemed to share Shayera's intuitive knowledge. They also shared Shayera's belief that Wonder Woman needed to be left alone right now.

"Superman, let her go," J'onn was the one to stop the big Kryptonian giving chase. Just that was enough to delay Superman enough to allow Wonder Woman the time to get away and the doors to close behind her. Both Superman and Flash could still easily catch her with their speed, but they were obviously too confused to move, especially with J'onn's words.

"Why? I am _seriously _missing something in all this..." Flash was the one to prompt for more.

"I don't think you're the only one," Superman concurred.

John looked as if he was about to answer, but thankfully Superman and Flash were both looking at J'onn so Shayera had time to put a silent hand on GL's thigh to stop him, along with the subtlest shake of her head when GL looked suddenly at her. If even two of them started trying to talk Superman and Flash out of going after Wonder Woman as well as J'onn, those two would start to get suspicious of the truth. Shayera had decided when she had made her own deductions about Bruce and Diana that she would not interfere, that she would let those two figure it all out for themselves. Letting the cat out of the bag for Flash and Superman before those two were even ready to say it to each other wouldn't be helpful. Enough people seemed to have figured it out before they had themselves already. Thankfully, John seemed to catch onto Shayera's train of thought immediately. They had both figured out that the other knew while they were fruitlessly investigating Albert Kincaid's apartment the last time. Shayera had found it too hard to keep things from John. Despite what she had done, her feelings hadn't changed there.

"Diana blames herself for this," J'onn explained to the two unknowing heroes. Shayera knew what J'onn said wasn't a lie, not directly, but she also knew that he too was not about to divulge anything. Of course he would know. It was near impossible for a human to hide such feelings for another when they were both so often around a telepath, even if they didn't go around thinking the word _love_. "She feels that she should have followed Batman the moment he went after Deadshot so he at least would have one ally in the other dimension. She feels guilty about the potential risks he is facing and is worried about his fate. That has left her feeling angry and confused. She needs time to come to terms with the fact that there was nothing she could do, and time to understand this. I shall monitor her telepathically, but for now she needs time alone."

Superman and Flash both looked worried still. Just like everyone on Earth, and in its orbit, they cared deeply for Wonder Woman. Hell, every man on Earth loved her to some degree, whether they admitted it or not.

"Okay, J'onn," Superman relented at last. "But tell me if you want any help on this. Even putting aside the fact that she's our friend, we can't be without Diana as well as Batman right now. Make sure she's all right."

"I will, you have my assurances," J'onn confirmed. After that the talk around the table resumed to the matter of how best the League should act until the threat Batman had gone after presented itself or Batman returned victorious. Before that, though, Shayera could only think that the only way to truly make sure Diana was all right was for Batman to make it home alive.

And to finally let her in.


	10. Chapter 9: Strange New World

**Chapter 9: Strange New World**

It was Earth, but it wasn't like any Earth he had ever known. He had had to test the soil just to be sure, but apart from some subtle differences that should really be expected of a different dimension, there was no doubt. This was Earth. Or, more accurately, it _had been_. Now it was nothing but a dead heap of rock and mud.

It didn't take long for Batman's brilliant mind to determine what had happened. The atmosphere of the planet seemed to have been completely burned away, causing a fire to rip around the entire planet. Some traces of buildings remained as mere rubble, but all signs of life, animal, vegetation, even the cockroaches, was gone. There was no air left for any of it to breathe. This was a dead version of Earth, and seemingly recently so. Batman immediately knew why Bert Westwood so feared this Ovada Kaah. If the man was travelling from dimension to dimension doing _this _to every version of Earth he could find, he had to be stopped.

Especially if the real target of all this destruction was Diana. She would _not _become ashes like so many had on this Earth. Batman would not allow it, and he would do anything to prevent it.

The dead Earth certainly seemed to corroborate Westwood's story enough for Batman to know the ex-Cadmus man hadn't lied about Ovada Kaah. Whoever he was, he certainly seemed dangerous. Still, at least Batman was dealing with science and sanity here. From everything he knew, this Kaah was a warmonger, perhaps a highly impassioned one but he still did not sound like the kind of unpredictable lunatics Batman had to deal with in Gotham, nor did he sound like the kind of god-like magic wielder he had encountered with the Justice League. Kaah sounded like a man of violence, but also a man of order. Even if he was an alien from another dimension – hardly the kind of person the Batman was created to fight – and even if he could end up having the sort of powers Superman had and more, he still sounded like the kind of man that Batman could battle better than most.

And for Diana, he would. He would do anything.

Thankfully this journey into a new dimension had gone better than his previous experience. This time he hadn't emerged into an electrified box and awoken in shackles, or emerged into a place full of surprises. No, this was pretty much what he had been expecting after his 'talk' with Westwood, if not perhaps on an even larger scale than he had predicted. Batman found himself within an obvious military base, albeit safely within the shadows and out of sight. He would have to thank Kincaid for that if he ever made it back home alive.

People were wandering about all over the place, in between the clearly temporary barracks buildings and the stationary vehicles all around them. In recent times Batman had seen enough spaceships to know one when he saw it, and right now he was seeing at least one. Most of the craft around were small, dart like and clearly armed; fighter vessels of some sort, whether simply atmospheric craft or not. It was the larger ship that was so obviously space faring, and also the one that Batman most observed. The thing was vast, absolutely huge. Almost as big as an entire city. And the whole thing looked lined with weaponry. Worst of all was the larger protrusion at the top of the craft. It looked a lot like a cannon, and that left Batman one deduction; it was the weapon Westwood had told him about, the weapon that had burned this Earth and perhaps many others before it.

That would be the weapon Batman would have to stop, a ship he would somehow have to destroy or disable to save his world. How he would do that was the question he had to answer. It appeared from the amount of people wandering around that he still had time to figure it out. He used the term 'people' figuratively. They were obviously alien, slightly bigger than a normal human but still the same general shape. More than that he could hardly deduce as they were all covered head to toe in heavy armour so that even their eyes could not be seen, carrying some sort of gun with them. They looked formidable.

They also looked beatable, so long as he didn't have to face them all at once. Stealth would definitely be his key. None of them, however, matched the description Westwood had given of Kaah himself, the man who could apparently strip a superhero of their powers while dishing out a beating at the same time. Batman would have to keep an eye out for him, though he suspected Kaah would not be the type of commander to mingle with his men.

Batman was also thankful that he was safely breathing. This Ovada Kaah and his men clearly needed oxygen to survive themselves. They may have somehow burned away the Earth's atmosphere, but as long as they had to stay here they needed to breathe. The bubble was their means to do that. It looked odd against the black of the scorched Earth, but the shimmering blue hemisphere was vital. It meant the air that other machines were pumping out into it was not lost and, seemingly made of pure energy, it would also be easy for Kaah to transport it on to the next Earth he destroyed.

As for how Kaah journeyed from one dimension to the next, that was less obvious, but only because it was hidden behind the giant weapon-wielding craft. Batman spent a good few hours slowly creeping around the military base, keeping to the shadows, hiding away behind the various fold-up buildings, observing all the way. Thankfully it was night-time on this Earth too, so his task was somewhat simplified. None of those soldiers saw him as he moved around. He watched them perform a variety of tasks from drill exercises to things as simple as going to the mess. Everything he could learn about them would ultimately prove useful in determining how to stop them. Every second of observation taught him more about these people; how they thought, how they would react, the kind of things that could keep him alive. They were certainly disciplined, no one ever being a foot out of line, no one even speaking unless it was a requirement. This was not an army based on pay. It was one of extreme loyalty. That meant either they completely shared Ovada Kaah's convictions, or he had them so afraid of him that not one dared even speak out of turn. For soldiers to be that afraid, Batman could only deduce that this Kaah really was as powerful as Westwood had made him out to be, and not a foe to be taken lightly.

But Batman was used to inspiring fear himself, and he had his own cause to fight for. Kaah might be desperate to kill every last Earth and every last Wonder Woman, but, no matter what, Batman knew he was more desperate to save them. Kaah was clearly a killer, perhaps on an incredible scale but a killer all the same. Batman had met enough of them to know how they thought. Especially when they had targets left alive, a killer wouldn't have the conviction to be willing to give everything to see a lone one of their jobs through, instead staying alive to fight another day. Batman, however, was more than ready to sacrifice himself for Diana. He had been doing it for years already anyway.

Finally Batman saw the device that Kaah used to travel dimensions as his scouting of the camp took him around to the other side of the large ship. It was different to Kincaid's device, but then that ship was too big for a ramshackle frame to fit around it with ease. This one was built into the ground, looking almost like a cinema projector buried into the dead Earth. It was big in its own right, and seemingly all just machinery, with no obvious ways inside. The give-away that this was what Batman was looking for was the glowing light coming from the end of it. He could see the swirling spiral of colour within that light, the tell-tale signs. He could see that the device was opening some sort of dimensional portal, but he could also see from how faint it was, how it seemed to be slowly growing and solidifying, that there was still plenty of time until that portal was stable enough for even one of the small ships to be able to pass through it, let alone the big weapon. He still had time to stop it. Now was the time to plan.

Even the Batman could not fight an entire army alone, and he sincerely doubted that any weapon he had would penetrate the shield and cause all these soldiers to suffocate. Besides, that would break his only rule. No, he needed to do something more subtle. There was more reasoning behind Batman having to do this alone than Westwood not trusting metas or for Batman to protect his friends from Kaah and the theft of their powers. This was _not _a job for Superman to fly in and smash things until they broke, especially as this dimension's Superman had obviously been unable to defeat Kaah's weapon. He would have to defeat this army without them even realising they were under attack, and the best way to protect his dimension would clearly be to stop this army even reaching it. The second best would be to make it so they had no world killing weapon for if and when they got there.

That gave Batman a two prong plan of attack; disable Kaah's cross-dimensional device, and disable his ship. As for how he would do that, simply assaulting both would not do. Too loud, too easily spotted, too easy for things to go wrong without knowing more about how they were defended. If no version Superman could punch the weapon into obliteration, Batman doubted very much that he had a batarang big enough. No, this would have to be an inside job. It was time for him to use his intellect. It was time to see what that ship looked like on the inside, and to get it to _tell_ him what he needed to know to destroy it.

Luckily this was the first area where Westwood seemed to be wrong about Kaah and his forces. Westwood had described that lead ship as impenetrable for anyone, human, meta or magician. That, however, was clearly only when it was in battle. Right now, the front door was left wide open for him. Batman simply had to bide his time until no one was coming in or out and walk right on through. It took a while, but having patience was something Batman was good at. Usually, any way. Right now it took effort to maintain that patience.

That was what happened when Diana was this involved...

Even inside he kept to the shadows. It was more important in there. There were no buildings to leap behind, no rooftops to scramble up on if he felt that someone was approaching who may spot him. Thankfully, though, even on their ship these aliens didn't seem to like things bright, at least not at night, leaving Batman plenty of shadows to remain in as he travelled. Along with the help of a plethora of off-shoot corridors, store rooms and the like for him to hide in whenever he saw anyone potentially coming his way, Batman remained unseen. It took a while, especially as he circled around a couple of times to ensure he wouldn't be detected or interrupted, but eventually he reached his first target.

Even on the ship, the alien soldiers were fully armoured and numerous, but they also seemed to be heavily congregating in select areas. No doubt that would change when the ship was in flight or in battle, but until they reached the next version of Earth, _his _Earth, there would be little for anyone to do on this craft other than to prepare. That meant it was easy for Batman to track down a room that would remain empty, a room with a computer he could hack into. He wasn't the Question, but Batman still knew his way around computers more than enough to learn what he needed, even an alien one. It would just take a bit of time.

He let the door shut behind him when he finally entered the room of his choosing. It was small, it was dark, with the computer positioned in such a way that he could work on it and still maintain a watch on the doorway in case someone was coming. Enveloped in the darkness, he quickly got to work.

It looked pretty much exactly like a human computer, complete with monitor, keyboard, mouse, et al. It was also easy to activate, simply needing one gauntleted hand to gently press against the screen. The real problem was language. Batman was multi-lingual. Virtually every human language he had ever needed to know, he knew. This, however, was no human language. Even with his cryptographic sequencer, he couldn't hack through into the databases without knowing what he was reading.

Once again, patience was the key. Batman examined the keyboard and the characters that were displayed on the screen, knowing full well that this would not necessarily be as simple as matching each symbol to a Latin letter. Eventually he saw a connection to a language he did know. It was ancient, something he had picked up thanks to Alfred's tutoring him in all manners of the classics, and he was by no means fluent, but he knew enough to understand the characters and to make a rough translation. This alien language was not the same, but he started to see the similarities. He began noticing all the subtleties, all the connections. It was not enough for perfection, nowhere near, but it was enough to be a guide.

Batman drew his sequencer, programming it as best as he could with what he figured these alien characters must mean, some simple letters, some various letter combinations, some full, common words. He was slow and careful, checking and re-checking his programming so that he wouldn't make an inescapable mistake that would lead to his discovery. Once he had the sequencer fully programmed, he connected his device remotely with the computer itself. It worked. The computer remained unchanged, but the holographic screen of the sequencer suddenly altered. Now it showed what was on that computer, only translated. It was pidgin English, but it was close enough. Batman was in.

There seemed to be no security systems, no firewalls he had to hack his way through. Overconfidence seemed to be a weakness of Ovada Kaah. He clearly believed that no one would ever make it aboard his craft that he didn't want to be there. Obviously no other version of Batman had been warned that it was coming before the fight had begun and the front doors closed. Yet another fact to help him end this threat had been learned.

It didn't take long to find the files he needed. In fact, it took a simple search. For several long minutes Batman studied everything relevant that he could find, from the workings and control systems of the ship, the technical readouts of the weapon, the schematics of the dimensional device, even about to proficiency of these aliens themselves. The cannon up top was indeed what had burned this world. Effectively it was a kind of giant lighter that, once sparked enough, made the air itself catch fire, nothing like the traditional kind of weapon. Most important, he learned how it was handled, or rather, how _not _to handle it. Now that would be _very _important for Batman to remember.

As for the dimensional travel device, he learned something vital there too. It was buried in the ground for a reason. It seemed Kaah's system required incredible power, far more than Kincaid's had needed, even after compensating for its grander size. In fact, the only source of power that seemed big enough was the core of the Earth itself. Kaah had managed to drill a route right down into the molten metals that gave the Earth the energy to spin, using it as a geothermal energy source thanks to generators built into the base of the dimensional device. Batman knew what that would truly mean. Simply burning away the entire atmosphere was not enough of a death for the Earth for Ovada Kaah. He would also make it so the planet could never possibly support life again via his means of moving on. Even if any humans could be saved in the event Kaah's weapon was fired, they would be left without a home.

As far as Batman was concerned, though, that was a moot point. He would not let that weapon be fired. If it was, then Diana would almost certainly be dead already if she was indeed Kaah's target. He would not fire it on Earth otherwise, not until she was gone, not unless it was the means to kill her too.

And Diana _was_ Kaah's target. As Batman went further into the files, he found the footage. It was recorded as if to be savoured for later, with the collection even edited together so they could all be watched end to end repeatedly. This time Batman really did have to force himself to watch on. Once again what he was seeing would teach him a lot about the enemies tactics and weaponry in case the fight did come, but every second of it made him almost break down in grief, sickness and rage. Seeing her die, over, and over, and over... It was like being in hell, like being back in that alleyway as an eight year old. It was a torture beyond anything he had ever handed out to one of Gotham's criminals, a torture beyond any other imaginable.

And it was in that moment that he knew exactly how far she had wormed her way into his head. He had not wanted this, he had fought against it but, for once, this time Batman had lost the fight. He knew it. He would not delude himself. That was the moment he knew that there was no going back, no more hiding. That was the moment that he knew what had to happen, that he had to finally confront this and resolve what was between him and Diana once and for all when this was all over, one way or the other. He just had to make sure that she survived Ovada Kaah, his army and his world destroying weapon first, no matter the cost.

Unfortunately, that was also the moment when his legendary guard dropped. Batman was so caught up in that footage, in the emotions it brought out so strongly in him, that he was a second too slow in realising the door to the room had just re-opened. He couldn't see the alien soldier's face through his...her..._its _helmet, but the body language was universal for shock.

Both Batman and the soldier quickly went for their belts, as if cowboys in an old Western. Batman was a split second behind due to the effect that footage had had on him. If the alien had gone for the kill, Batman could well have been dead. It seemed, though, that this soldier was not prepared to take the risk of going for personal glory and failing to kill its target. It didn't draw a gun. Instead it sounded an alarm from its belt-mounted communications device a second before the sonic shock batarang struck against its chest.

The shock hit the alien even through its armour. It was enough to cause it great pain and make it collapse to the floor, but Batman had to charge forward and smash its still helmeted head into the solid deck before it stopped moving completely. Really, it didn't matter. Stealth had been the key to Batman's mission, and because of getting caught of guard for even only the merest fraction of a second, it was lost. The sirens were sounding out throughout the entire ship for all to hear.

His secret was out.

Batman now had no choice. He would have to go for the full frontal assault. He knew how to destroy the weapon on this ship now. He just had to get to where he needed to be, and there were likely to be a lot of soldiers guarding that place. His chances were very slim.

Replacing the sequencer safely onto his belt, Batman ran. He didn't know exactly where he was going, but he had translated enough to recognise symbols on the walls indicating where on the craft he was on to roughly figure out which way to travel. Unfortunately, it already seemed to be taking him right into the flow of enemy soldiers.

Five of them rounded the corner up ahead of him. They were all just as faceless as the last, only these already had their weapons drawn. This time Batman was not off guard. He threw another batarang, this one explosive, but he didn't aim for any of the five. He aimed for the ceiling right above them. The blast did its job; all five were knocked off their feet before they could fire, flying in all different directions. In no small part thanks to their armour, they were quickly scrambling back up, but Batman had earned all the distraction that he needed.

He was on the first one fast, quick enough to kick the gun away before the alien's hand could grasp for the dropped weapon, slamming his knee into the alien's head as it began to rise. He felt the pain through his own armour, but Batman was used to pain. His opponent clearly wasn't. Housed up in this tank of a ship, it's fighting skills were clearly not recently tested. The alien began to fall, but not before Batman threw a roundhouse kick at it with his other leg to send the alien smashing backwards into two of its comrades. They all collapsed, the other two losing their reacquired guns again.

Batman didn't bother to charge the last two straight away. In a well-versed, fluid action, he flung a pair of standard batarangs at them, impaling them into the alien's gun hands, once again disarming the soldiers. There would be no guns in this fight.

Or so he had hoped. He was just beginning to charge those two, running right over the fallen three so that his weight would keep them down, when he heard the weapon fire behind him. He had been forced to focus so much on this bunch of alien soldiers that he had not heard the new group approach from behind him until it was too late.

He tried to leap out of the way, but there was no dodging it. The new batch of soldiers were like that very first one he had fought; they left nothing to chance. Shots were fired all over the corridor, no man-sized gap left between them. Even if Batman had been able to claim the title of the world's greatest contortionist among his many others, he had nowhere to go. The electrified energy blasts hit both him and the five aliens he had been fighting.

Intense pain sprung throughout his body, increased as he crashed against the wall, no longer able to safely land from his effort to dodge out the way. Batman had no idea if this was a killing shot or not that had hit him, but the fact that he seemed to have failed was bad enough. He could feel himself blacking out, and even his tremendous will power could not resist his body going into shock like it was now.

If he didn't wake up, or if he didn't in time, he had failed. Even if he did awake before this ship attacked his world, _his_ Diana, the enemy had him now. There was no guarantee of escaping them, no guarantee they wouldn't just kill him later. There was definitely no guarantee that he would get another chance to save her.

That was the real reason why he yelled in agony as the energy shot through his body. The most intense pain was the emotional kind. It outweighed the physical by far, especially because of what his failure could, and in all likelihood _would_, mean for those he cared about.

No doubt he often failed her through his inability to open up to her as she so clearly desired. Now he had failed her again, only with far worse potential repercussions. Perhaps it would be for the best if he didn't wake up.

At least then he wouldn't risk living on without her.


	11. Chapter10:The Substitute and Her Teacher

**Chapter 10: The Substitute and Her Teacher**

_**Three Days Later**_

Just because Batman had gone, it didn't mean the streets of Gotham were safe for the scum and villainy to return to in force. Three days had passed since Batman crossed into that other dimension, three days without any sign of his return. Wonder Woman didn't know whether to be glad of that or not. There was no trace of this threat he had gone to face being here, so maybe he had been successful in facing it. That was certainly a happy thought. But if it was a true thought, then why hadn't Bruce come back? There was one obvious answer in Wonder Woman's mind, and it just made her hope that wherever they were, Batman and his new foe were still locked in some kind of battle.

He had to come back. He had to.

Her anger with him had certainly started to return. Her worry was still there, and there strong, but Batman could have at least told _her _what was going on. He could at least have confided in _her_ so that she didn't have to be so worried about him, so that she would have a reason to ignore Shayera and Superman's grievances over what he had done back in that warehouse.

Wonder Woman wasn't stupid. She knew that Batman cared for her as a close friend, more so than he cared about a lotof people, personally and professionally. It was obvious when the two of them were alone, even if he refused to open up to her like she wanted him to. She certainly cared for him too. For a long time now, Batman had fascinated her more than any other man she had ever known, in part because he was _like_ no other man she had ever known. That had only exacerbated after she had encountered Agent Steve Trevor when the League had traveled into the past. That man had clearly had..._urges _for her and - while Diana was sure she was above such things, just like all her Amazon sisters - her time with Steve had, for some reason, made her want to spend more time with Bruce, _outside _of League business. She wanted to have fun with him in whole new ways, to learn ever more about Man's World while in his company and his alone. No other man out there got under her skin like he did. She knew that no other man could, even if she couldn't pinpoint why that was. So she had begun to almost court him, to try to get him to want to spend time with her too. Considering this was Batmanshe was dealing with, she was under no illusions that she would achieve it quickly or easily, but Diana had time. Being immortal, she had plenty. The only problem was that Bruce wasn't immortal, and Diana didn't care what another man a hundred years from now was like. It was Bruce she wanted to experience life in this world with, to be her companion and guide through it all, and she had thought she was actually winning him over.

And then he had done this. He had abandoned them all, but in Diana's eyes he had abandoned her most of all. She couldn't stand that. It made her so angry, so frustrated. _Why _hadn't he just _told her_? He had had plenty of chances, especially after he had encountered Deadshot up in that office building in Central City. Yet he had just shut her out and made himself completely alone. She felt almost betrayed, and that made her rage build.

But then he had said sorry, and reminded her of the Bruce she knew before all this, the Bruce she knew even better than Kal did. So what was going on? Had he abandoned her or not? Had he betrayed her not? Did he actually care about her, or not? And why was this all affecting her so intensely, making her more confused than she had been in a long, long time?

All she knew was that until she knew for sure one way or the other, Diana was not going to abandon him. That was why she was here. The one thing no one could argue with about Bruce Wayne was his love for Gotham, his need and dedication to clean up his city so that no other innocent resident had to suffer, so that no child would have to watch their parents die as he had. Whatever this was threat was that Batman had gone to fight, it had to be big for the simple fact that it had drawn Batman from his city for this long. Diana was not about to let Batman's hard work here be undone, not as long as any chance remained that Bruce was still...Bruce.

And so for each of the last three nights Gotham had become her city. She would keep up the Batman's work for however long it took. Even if Batman never came back from where he had gone, she would keep up his work. Robin wasn't old enough or ready to really handle it, and never would be without Bruce around to teach him. And Nightwing had his own city to protect. So, perhaps for as long as she would live, Diana would be Gotham's regent protector.

For Bruce.

But she wasn't doing this as Wonder Woman. No, that could be almost as detrimental as Gotham being left completely unguarded. Gotham was the darkest part of Man's World, and it wasn't ready yet for the light that was Wonder Woman. It needed something as dark as it was to save it first, and that was what the Batman was for. That was why Bruce had forced himself to live in such darkness for so long, and why he would continue to do so for many years to come, for as long as it took. Diana had accepted that long ago. In fact, she had never doubted it from the moment she had accepted that his methods were not as bad as the enemies they faced. Gotham needed Batman. Really it needed Bruce Wayne as Batman, but at the very least it needed _a _Batman.

For now, Diana would have to do.

It hadn't been hard for her to acquire a Batsuit. She knew the ways in and out of the cave already from her time spent at the Manor with the other members of the League during and after the Thanagarian invasion. Having decided against revealing her plan to anyone, she didn't go in through the front door. That would have involved speaking with Alfred and, while she certainly didn't dislike the old man, she didn't want to talk to anybody yet. She wanted to be alone for a while, especially while she was still figuring _herself _out, let alone Bruce. That was why she had left the Watchtower without telling Kal and the rest where she was going, and why she entered the Batcave by teleporter. Once she had grabbed herself one of Bruce's suits, she was quickly gone again, out the same way the Batmobile would take.

The suit was too big for her really. She had put it on before entering Gotham proper so as to avoid being seen out as Wonder Woman, though keeping her own armour on underneath. Thankfully, though, she was tall enough so that the cape and cowl didn't look out of place, the Batman armour solid enough so as not to show off too much of her shapely figure beneath it, especially in the middle of the night provided that she didn't let anyone get a good enough look. Even if they did, perhaps the criminals and the Gotham underworld could just believe there was a new Batwoman in town and add to the Batman myth instead of destroying it. Just in case, though, she had practiced her growl before setting off. It wasn't perfect, but most people wouldn't actually know what Batman sounded like unless they had previously faced his wrath. She should get away with it just fine. Perhaps overall someone like Kal would have been better as Bruce's substitute, but Diana wanted to do this herself. She had to.

And she had done. For three nights Diana had patrolled Gotham in the Batsuit. She hadn't encountered any of the famous super-criminals in that time. On none of those nights had there been even a hint of trouble from someone like the Joker, the Riddler or Mr. Freeze. No doubt they were all locked away in Arkham, knowing Batman's proficiency. There hadn't been any sign of the Batsignal in the skies either, so Diana had had no need to interact with Batman's allies in the police force.

But it wouldn't be Gotham without crime. The major players were all apparently absent, but Diana had still found herself facing up against all sorts of lowlifes. Would-be murderers, rapists, thieves, drug dealers, gangsters, all sorts. She had heard the stories of what Batman did in this city every night, heard about the endless tide of crime and cruelty he was up against, but until now she didn't really comprehend just how bad Gotham was. More than ever before, fighting them gave her an understanding of exactly why Batman was how he was, why his methods were so different from the likes of her and Superman. It was because of Gotham, and the darkness it was forever trapped in.

This night was no different to the last ones. Once night had descended and the underworld came out of its shadows and onto the streets, she was there, crouching on the rooftops looking for any signs of where Gotham needed her, where it needed the Batman. Just as with the other nights, it didn't take long for her first port of call to make itself known. The screams made it obvious. Immediately and sticking to the shadows, she set off for the darkened alley only a short distance away, having to hold back from simply flying there and to use methods more in keeping with Batman instead.

"No, please!"

It was a woman's voice that had shouted. With the wisdom granted to her by Athena, Diana quickly understood just from that what she was heading for. This was another attempted rape.

"Shut up!" one man's voice rang out.

"Yeah, you gonna keep quiet and enjoy it, bitch!" said another. So this was an attempted gang rape. Fine. She would stop it anyway, and this way she just had more scum on to whom she could beat out her emotions.

"No! No! Help me, somebody! Somebody! Please! No, help me!" the intended victim wailed out again. It was clear she was fighting them, but it was also clear that she wouldn't last long. It was a good job that that was when Diana arrived.

There was two of them. It seemed the woman was a waitress at a nearby bar. She had taken the back exit, out onto an alleyway around the corner from this one. She had clearly been working her way around to the main road when the two guys had jumped from the darkness onto her before she could reach the relative safety of a more public place. The girl really should have known better in Gotham, but that was no excuse for what those men were doing. They were all over the girl, trying hard to pin her down to commit their horrific act. Her face showed plenty of fear. Beneath the cowl, Diana's hardened in anger. She was really getting into the part of Batman.

The sound of her landing gave her away to the would-be rapists, but she had not tried to be subtle. Batman could well have just taken them down with a batarang, but Diana was not used to how they flew through the air, and she didn't want to miss and hit the girl. Besides, she wanted to use her fists, to feel the scum hurt for what they were trying to do to that poor girl.

"Batman!" one of the two guys cried out at the sight of her there, the darkness around her showing them nothing but a silhouette of the armour, cape and cowl. It was enough. Just the thought of having to fight Batman scared the goons into releasing the girl and turning their full attention onto Diana. Now it was them who looked scared, or one of them did at least. The other one looked too stupid to understand he was busted. The girl, no longer in their hold, simply ran. Diana hoped that she wouldn't stop until she got to the safety of her home.

"I'm not scared of you, Batman!" the stupid crook yelled looking at her stood in the darkness. She said nothing, did nothing. She didn't have to. The fool ran straight towards her, fists raised as if they could possibly do anything to hurt her. It was so simple to just duck under his flailing arm when he caught up to her and throw him over her back, slamming him down head first against the concrete with an almighty crack. If his skull wasn't broken then he would still have one hell of a headache.

But only once he was conscious again.

The other guy had began to move forward as his friend had charged, but seeing the ease with which the first one had been dispatched he skidded to a stop just out of arms reach. That was easily fixed. A simple leap and she was plunging both of her feet and all of her weight into the man's chest. They both fell to the ground from the impact, but only one of them groaned in pain, and it wasn't Diana.

She quickly flipped herself back to her feet before the man had even begun to climb. She didn't let him get far. Not under his own power anyway. With speed Flash would have to respect, she was on him. It didn't take her full enhanced strength to haul the scum up into the air by the collar. Her teeth clenched in the anger she felt towards this man over what he had almost done to that poor woman, her hand switching to clasp the man's throat.

It was clear he was struggling to breathe, clear that fear had fully overwhelmed him now. Diana wouldn't kill him, just as Batman wouldn't, but the man didn't need to know that. Inspiring such fear in him was the best way to ensure he wouldn't try anything like this again. That was why she slammed her other fist into the man's ribs, cracking at least one.

It was then that she heard the sirens. The police were on their way. The girl must have called them once she had gotten away. Clever girl. The police could take these guys from here. Diana dropped the second crook to the floor, where he lay, grasping his side and wheezing. She knew she couldn't stay here. She couldn't risk one of these policemen being one of Batman's allies on the GCPD. She couldn't risk it getting out that she wasn't actually Batman.

That was why she flew back up to the rooftops. She didn't bother sticking purely to Batman's techniques this time. No one was watching. Besides, she had learned that one of Batman's best weapons against the scum of Gotham was his mystery. Apparently there were some people who still believed he was just a myth, while there were others who didn't think he was a man at all. If one or two people caught a glimpse of what would seem to them to be Batman flying, then as the rumours spread the myth that was Batman would only grow. Perhaps just by subtly flying now, she could stop another man becoming like the two laid out in that alley below, and that would certainly make it worth it.

She could see the blue lights of the police cars at that alleyway as she moved away from it, keeping close to the rooftops. Eventually she settled down on another roof so as to observe the city. Patience was not one of her stronger virtues, so she didn't enjoy stopping like this to await the next crime she would have to prevent, but she wasn't doing this her way, or even for herself. For Bruce, she would cope.

She wasn't waiting there like that long though. Neither did she soon face another crime to stop. It was something else, something completely different and unexpected.

"This is not the first time I have felt the need to stop you from acting so hostile, Diana."

Diana leapt up to her feet at the sudden sound of J'onn's voice behind her. She had been stood on the edge of the building, scouring for signs of trouble. The surprise of J'onn being there too made her jump so much she almost fell over the side. Not a problem when you considered that she could fly, but she didn't like being caught off guard like that. Even if J'onn could phase through walls, it was normally only Batman who could sneak up on Diana _that _well.

"J'onn," she said his name as she turned to face him. Content that no one else was around to see them, Diana removed her borrowed cowl, ceasing that moment to be a replacement Batman and becoming Wonder Woman once again as far as the world around her was concerned. Of course, as far as she was concerned, she had been both. An unpleasant thought then crossed her mind. No doubt he could read it in her thoughts, but she voiced it anyway. "Have you been following me?"

"In a way, yes," J'onn answered honestly, despite her displeased look. "I have been monitoring you telepathically from the Watchtower. It was our way of making sure you were all right. After what has occurred with Batman, it was thought best. Until now I tried to give you the privacy you need to come to terms with how you feel. Part of my observing you as I did was to achieve that goal and also to prevent Superman from chasing after you from the start. Now, after seeing your actions here in Gotham for another night running, I thought I had best teleport down and step in."

Hearing his reasoning, all anger with J'onn was suddenly gone. In fact, in that moment Diana felt all her anger leave her, at least for the time being. All of sudden the urge struck her irrepressibly to extract herself from Batman's armour fully, almost as if it was symbolic of that anger. She wasted no time in doing so, even if it was a fairly slow process thanks to all the gadgets and gizmos on the suit. When she was done, it was the usual-look Wonder Woman stood before J'onn, the Batsuit left laying on the rooftop, crumpled and empty.

"That wife of yours will be wondering where you've been," she commented with a smile, trying to bring back her usual warmth, even if she didn't really feel it yet. She had gotten over the anger with J'onn in an instant. Her confusion over Bruce remained. "If I remember right, Mr. Terrific's supposed to be the one on duty right now."

"I have explained to her that some of closest friends are in need of my rather unique aid," J'onn answered again. "She understands that I'm needed here right now, especially given the situation that may well be imminent."

"Speaking of which," Diana jumped in before J'onn could say more. "Have John and Shayera found Westwood, or anything at all? I'm already assuming that since I never got a call whatever threat there is out there hasn't come yet."

"You are right to assume, and I'm afraid not." J'onn shook his head as he answered. "Diana, I'm sorry to inform you there has been no sign of Batman yet either."

"I figured that, too," Diana returned. She could have said so before, but she hadn't wanted to hear the words. "He'd be here telling me to get out of his city if he was back."

"Diana, I know what's troubling you," J'onn suddenly changed tack. "Do not forget that I can read your mind. I have known for a long time of the feelings between you and Batman."

"We're close," Diana concurred. There was no point denying it. Even ignoring the fact that J'onn could see through any lie with ease, she had no reason to hide from the truth. "Or as close as someone can get to Batman. What of it?"

"Diana," J'onn said the name firmly, as if he was a parent determined to make a playacting child listen. "I know you love him."

"J'onn, I love all of you," Diana instantly shrugged that off as if it was a moot point. "I love everyone who hasn't proved themselves undeserving, and all the Justice League certainly fall into that category, Batman included."

"No, Diana," J'onn stressed again. "I know you are _in love _with Batman."

This time, Diana was left well and truly speechless, her jaw even dropping in shock. Her? In love with Batman? As in, romantically? _Her_? But... she was Wonder Woman, and a Princess of the Amazons. Amazon's _didn't_ fall in love with men. They had avoided men for thousands of years, ever since the disastrous effects of the last time an Amazon had fallen in love. Diana had followed that path explicitly until she had felt obliged to save Man's World and had joined the Justice League. While she had seen the good side of men since then, she would _always _be an Amazon. She couldn't have fallen in love with a man now, not in _that_ way. Could she...?

But she had grown close to Bruce. Hera, if people had seen the two of them together they might have said that she often flirted with him as she tried to get him to let her in. She certainly enjoyed every single second spent with him like she enjoyed with no other man. Superman, J'onn, Wally, none of them made her as happy as Bruce could, even if Bruce hardly ever tried to. She wanted to spend more time with him, to get him to open up to her more, for the two to develop and grow together_._ If anyone, then it would be Bruce...

No. No, she wasn't in love... She couldn't be... She'd have realised it before now... Wouldn't she? She wouldn't allow herself to fall in love after what happened with her mother. But Bruce was hardly Hades... He was Bruce... _Bruce..._

"J'onn, Batman is a wonderful man. He's like no-one else on this planet," she began to speak at last, not even sure herself where she was going yet. "I virtually see him as a kindred spirit, despite our obvious differences. His methods might not be in line with mine a lot of the time, we're essentially from two completely different worlds, and he looks to the dark while I stay in the light. But once you go deeper, to the man behind the Bat... He's a warrior, and what's more he _chooses_ to be. It's purely through choice that he keeps fighting for justice, unlike Kal, and Wally, and John, who fight in no small part because they've got the powers and responsibilities to. That choice, the dedication Batman puts into it... Its like the Amazon way, _my _way. I respect that, deeply, especially when you look at all the good he's done for the world, despite the endless risks to his own life. Having no powers and still being among the toughest in the League, shying away from no fight no matter the risks... And of course with respect I'm drawn closer to him, but it's not what you think. He's such a good man, the epitome of what a human being can become on their own, and that intrigues me. It does make me love him, as I love any good person... But, J'onn, I'm _Wonder Woman_. I don't fall _in love _with a man..."

J'onn shook his head again. "Diana, I can see what you truly think, despite what you say. I know you are not simply drawn to Batman through respect for the good he does. Many people share such traits in this world, a lot of whom you have met, some even in the Justice League. Superman is the ultimate symbol of good of our age, yet it is Batman you're drawn to. It is Batman whose disappearance has made you react in such an... _intense _manner. Diana, for years I have held back from confronting you on this. I have been waiting for the two of you to sort out your feelings for yourselves. Whatever the endpoint, it would be best for both of you both that way. But given the circumstances, I felt I had to intervene, before you do something you regret, before we lose you as we have – for now – lost him. I can see your confusion over Batman. Think about what it has already brought you to do. You might say that Wonder Woman cannot fall in love with a man, but then would it not also be true that Wonder Woman could not act so much like Batman as you have been doing these last three nights? What other reason could Wonder Woman have for doing that, other than because of the great extent of her feelings for the man who she was doing it for?"

Wonder Woman had known herself that her argument had been weak before J'onn had even begun to counter her. That last point in particular tipped her over the edge. J'onn was right. He was actually right. The more she stopped to think about it, the more it made sense. Just minutes ago it had been unthinkable. Now Diana could see no other truth. It was the reason for all her recent emotions, the true reason why she had such desire to be closer to him. She was in love with Batman. _She was _in love _with Batman_! All the flirting, all the desire to be with him, her concern over him since Central City... It wasn't just friendship. It wasn't just a desire to see more of the man he truly was. It was stronger. She was in love with Bruce.

She was so hit by the realisation, her eyes actually becoming stuck on the cowl on the floor, that she did not speak. Nevertheless, J'onn still knew that she had admitted it to herself.

"Diana, I know that this might not help you feel better. In fact, I know it could well mean you become even more worried over Batman's safety, wherever he is, as well as make you have to think about how to react to this. But I hope that the truth can bring to you an acceptance, an understanding of what you are going through and put an end to the levels of confusion that have so troubled you these last few days. I hope that it means you remember who you really are beneath what that confusion was making you become. The League has been worried about your state of mind, especially since your abrupt departure from the Watchtower three days ago and due to the fact that you haven't been back since. We all know that we could very well need your help if and when the next major threat strikes, but more importantly we all care about you. We need Wonder Woman as much as the world does. We all want to see you come back to us safe. I hope this understanding of yourself can see to that happening, when you're ready."

Diana had hardly heard a word J'onn said this time. She had still been thinking it all over in her mind. It had hit her hard. It was _still_ hitting her hard. As hard as that missile over Gorilla City that had almost crushed her, when Batman had tried to dig her out and she had kissed his cheek in thanks; the time her true affection for him had begun, when she had first truly glimpsed the real compassion in his soul. And it had grown so much since then. So very much.

It was probably during her first foray with time travel when she first knew it, albeit not allowing herself to register it until now. Her heritage, her mother's experiences with such matters would have meant she would have tried to hide it from herself, perhaps even made her _scared _of it, as unlikely as that sounded. Meeting Steve Trevor, the affection he had shown for her then, the kiss and the passion he had displayed for her. She hadn't known how to react to it all then. Now she knew that was because it had all been making her heart wish she was experiencing that with another man, experiencing it _all_ rather than simply the closeness of it as she had originally thought.

And she wanted that with Bruce. That was why she had been a lot more drawn to him after that mission. It was because she subconsciously had known that she loved him. All their moments together began flashing through her mind, one after the other, and it just made more and more sense. She loved him. She loved Batman. One moment in particular suddenly stood out.

"We kissed once," she muttered softly. She didn't know if J'onn could actually hear her. She seemed to be speaking more to that empty cowl than to him, but she had to say the words, to get them out of her, to move herself on from the shock of such a sudden and major realisation. It didn't matter that J'onn probably already knew this too. "To hide from Thanagarian soldiers during their invasion, we kissed so that they wouldn't recognise us. Or at least that's what I thought then. I guess it's still true, really. But now that I look back... I guess I wanted it to happen for another reason too. I instigated it. We could have found some other way to hide, but I _kissed_ him. I guess, deep down, I've known it all along, but my Themysciran roots were so deep I didn't let myself even realise it, let alone accept it and believe it. And Bruce... He... He..."

"He kissed you back," J'onn answered for her as she couldn't say the words. "Diana, I have seen his mind too. I won't reveal his secrets for the same reason I have told no-one else of yours. But I will say that you and he _definitely _have a lot to discuss upon his return. This is even more complex for him than it is for you. Batman may not seem to have feelings, and he may not choose to express those he does have very often. But Diana, I can assure you, he _does _have feelings."

J'onn almost said that last part with a wink her way. Diana felt her heart do a somersault as she saw the absent-yet-implied motion. Hera, she definitely loved Batman. Almost every man on Earth seemed to love Wonder Woman in some way, yet it was just the suggestion that the Batman might be one of them that did this to her. And, with no one else _ever _liable to be like Bruce throughout the rest of time, there likely would never be any other man who could either. She had a lot of figuring out to do.

Yet another reason why Bruce had to come back to her.

Already, in only a matter of seconds since she had known the truth, her mind was raging over the questions; about what the future could hold, about whether Batman could actually be in love with her too, about whether Batman could actually ever admit it and allow her into his life in _that _way, about so many more issues that might stand between them. Already those sorts of questions were making her drive herself crazy as she couldn't decide, for once in her life, whether optimism or pessimism was her way. Bruce had to come back, and come back _fast_, so she could get those answers. Even when trying to avoid thinking about them, from the second J'onn had made her face up to her feelings they were suddenly making her feel vulnerable, especially because of those missing answers. Diana wasn't used to feeling vulnerable, and she didn't like it. Only getting Bruce back and talking it all through with him was going to fix that.

No doubt J'onn heard all that going through her mind. In part that decided her next words, but she wouldn't have said more even if J'onn wasn't a telepath. They weren't the kind of words Diana was ever used to confessing. That would likely take time and, even then, there was likely only ever the one man who she could comfortably say them to.

"Who else knows? That I love him," she asked the one question that came readily to mind that _wasn't _so directly about her and Bruce.

"Like I said, I have told no one," J'onn replied, making no mention of the other thoughts that had gone through Diana's mind. "Very few have even begun to recognise the signs between the two of you. Green Lantern and Shayera have guessed it but I believe they are the only ones to do so. Superman and the Flash definitely have no clue. I am the only one who actually knows for sure, and unless you tell others yourself, that is how it will stay."

Diana suddenly found a smile erupt over her face, and not only because of what J'onn had just said. She may be blocking the questions from her mind as much as she could – for the time being – but Batman was in her head stronger than ever now. Not only that, but she suddenly _noticed _him a lot more as she thought of him, in ways she had never _noticed _any man. It was the man within him she had fallen for, she knew that. But she couldn't lie. The outside wasn't exactly bad either.

"So what do you say? Are you ready to return to the Justice League, and leave Gotham to the police and those that Batman has trained for years to protect it? Are you ready to fully be Diana, Wonder Woman again and let the anger go?"

J'onn's latest words broke Diana from her reverie, but she immediately knew the answer. Besides, she found all of a sudden that she couldn't wipe that smile off of her face yet. It wouldn't do for anyoneto see a smiling Batman around.

"I'll come back, J'onn, but first I have some things to return to the Batcave before the owner comes back and finds them missing," she said through the smile, before suddenly leaping forward, hugging the big Martian and kissing him on the cheek. "Thank you, for everything."

"You have no need to thank me," J'onn returned, though he had a smile of his own now. "It was simply what a good friend is for, a service I will happily offer again should you feel you want to talk more. As for the present, as you pointed out earlier I have a wife to return to now that you are feeling more like yourself. I feel I had better do so while there is still time, before the League is next needed again, whether it is against this threat Batman has gone to face or a different one. Its been too long since we have seen each other, and I must admit that I miss her. One of the side effects of being in love."

He did flash her a knowing wink this time, making her smile become a full blown blast of laughter. She and J'onn shared another hug before the Martian summoned for the Watchtower to transport him back aboard and then on to China and his wife. That left Diana alone on that rooftop with the Bat armour she had worn. Once again she began staring into the empty cowl. She found herself frozen there for a long time before she could set off to return the armour to the cave. The same few words kept rushing through her head, over and over again, the type of words she had never felt she would think. The words that, despite all that was left to be discussed and discovered, despite all the worry for him facing against a threat she didn't even know, suddenly made all her earlier feelings replaced simply with happiness.

"_I'm in love with Batman._"


	12. Chapter 11: A Captive Audience

**Chapter 11: A Captive Audience**

He felt himself awaken slowly, unable to stop the soft grunt escaping him as he did so. Even the Batman took a second to remember where he was before he had lost consciousness, and what he had been doing there. Even the Batman needed the second to realise that he was still alive.

Once he did, Batman instantly tried to move quicker than he otherwise would. He still had a mission. He had to save the world, to save _Diana_. Unfortunately, he discovered he was now shackled tightly against a wall, and very firmly so. He fought the shackles hard with pure strength as well as with skill, but it was in vain. If he had time, he might be able to work his way out of them, but that was only _if _he had time. He had to fight back the intense growl of anger, but it still rumbled silently through his lungs.

He couldn't have failed in his quest to stop Ovada Kaah. He couldn't lose her...

But then, he may have done already. Batman realised that he had no idea how long he had been out. By now, Kaah may well have had his portal opened, sent his ship to the prime dimension, destroyed the world and... _killed Diana_. And it would be all because Batman had momentarily lost his control of his emotions and allowed himself to be discovered before he could destroy that weapon. All because he had failed to shut her out of his heart.

"Three and a half of your days."

Batman looked up, pausing his efforts to free himself. As soon as he could after awakening, he had focused immediately upon getting himself loose from his restraints, so much that he had hardly taken in the room around him. Another example of how this was affecting him; that wouldn't normally happen. He would have to wait before chastising himself over it, though. For now, he did finally study the room he found himself in. There wasn't much to it. It was small, square, better lit than the rest of the ship Batman had seen and with a table in the centre lined with instruments. Batman immediately recognised them as tools of pain, but if he had already failed her then he didn't care what those instruments were or what they might do to him. Instead, it was the single other being in the room that got his attention – and meant he could no longer work on freeing himself without his efforts being noticed and him being sent right back to square one.

Big, strong and green, just as Westwood had described him. In a way the being reminded Batman of Mongul, only even greener and with a lot more weight on the frame. Perhaps he was from a similar species Batman had yet to hear of, distinct because of the subtle physical difference and of course this power to remove a meta's abilities. That immediately made him glad that he had _insisted _on doing this alone. Mongul had almost killed a fully powered Wonder Woman once. If this guy was as tough as him, but could also remove a hero's powers, then she would have had no chance.

Batman also finally took time to truly recognise his own condition. He was still looking through his cowl. He still wore his full array of armour. He even still had his utility belt and, from what he could tell, all the gadgets within it. There was no way of knowing whether Kaah's men had actually tried to remove any of it and been foiled by his defence mechanisms or not. Nevertheless, that recognition was certainly of great note.

"That's how long I have kept you unconscious," Ovada Kaah expanded when Batman made no obvious attempt to respond to his words. He stepped forward around the table to be closer to Batman, almost caressing those torture tools on his way around. That immediately told Batman that this guy did not know much about him. He was trying to intimidate the man who had long mastered that art and as such would not be struck down by it so easily. Of course, Kaah failed. "For three and a half Earth days I have kept you here. I could have killed you straight away. You see I recognise you, Batman. I have seen you before, flying around in your little black plane of yours trying in vain to stop my crusade of justice. And I have killed you. Many, _many _times."

Again, Batman said nothing. He did not even let a muscle in his face twitch. Kaah was stood right before where he was held now, a taunting smile over his crusty alien lips. The continued lack of a response from Batman kept this guy talking. He clearly liked the sound of his own voice. Batman was already getting the impression that this guy had a bit of a god complex.

"I would have killed _you_ by now too. I will do, soon enough, but first I wanted to speak with you. To find out why you are here as much as how. And to find out how much you know, over in yourdimension. No doubt that fool Bert Westwood sent you here to stop me. As if you ever had a chance."

Kaah definitely smiled this time, abundantly pleased with himself. He clearly didn't realise that his words had done nothing to intimidate Batman or in any way break him. In fact, they had done the opposite. They had given him hope. It was the only explanation, especially given Kaah's wording. The only reason why he would want information on the prime dimension, why had did not refer to Westwood in the past tense, would be because his assault had yet to begin.

And because Diana was still alive. Batman still had the chance to save her. She was _alive_.

"I know you have issues," Batman spoke in a slow growl. He might be the one all tied up with seemingly no chance of escape, but, as the old Injustice Gang could testify to, that did not mean he was helpless. It was time to play the mind games. "I know that your name is Ovada Kaah, and that you're a sociopath, a madman who intends to bring death to every Earth across the infinite number of dimensions out there, which tells me that you're insane. I know about your apparently impenetrable ship, your atmospheric devastator and your personal abilities to remove the powers from any meta. I know that Albert Westwood drew you to my dimension, and I know that you have no intention of sparing my Earth. I know that you have an irrepressible rage towards Wonder Woman, and that that is the cause of all of your conquests against humanity, to kill all the versions of her. I also know that you are _not _invincible, and that I will stop you."

"My, my, you are the clever kind," Kaah uttered, quieter this time, his smile significantly lessened. He even took a step backwards towards that central table. "I never got the chance to get to know you before, in the one version of your world where I made the mistake of not just destroying you all from the outset. Perhaps if I had dealt with someone smarter then, instead of those who simply tried to smash their way to answers, you could have all died honourably, like civilised people. Perhaps if I had dealt with you and not... _her_, my wife would have lived, and so could all these other dimensions, perhaps even that very first one."

He definitely had a god complex. Just a few words and it seemed Batman had this guy ready to give him his full life story. There was no longer any doubt; overconfidence was definitely Ovada Kaah's greatest weakness. He clearly felt absolutely certain that Batman was already beaten. He had also clearly never stopped to watch any movies on that first trip to Earth of his, otherwise he would know better than to reveal his secrets to a captured hero. Batman hid his smile. He still had to pull it off, but even as a captive, he was learning his way to victory, and to saving her life.

"You didn't know that part, did you?" Kaah continued, sounding increasingly emotional. It was another weakness coming through, Kaah's lack of objectivity due to the effect of a woman. The fact that Batman was being held here instead of being out there destroying this ship was proof of the detriment that could have. "I came to the Earth in _my _dimension over a year ago now. The Justice League were obviously taking note when my ship showed up in orbit, but I gave them no reason to attack me. In fact, I arrived diplomatically, communicating with the Justice League and the planetary governments. I was not a warmongerer you see. In fact, I was a simple miner then, searching the galaxy for precious minerals to sell to various other worlds so that they could better themselves. Back in those days my ship had no weapons, just various drills and the like which could be used offensively in an emergency situation, what is now my devastating cannon included. Earth just happened to have a lot of the minerals that I required, so I came to collect them. That was the only reason I went to that version of this world. To gather minerals. And the easiest way to do that was to talk everyone on the planet into handing the desired elements and ores over to me. Unfortunately, the people of Earth weren't prepared to donate as much as I required. And I was not about to go home empty handed. I needed those minerals, and so I arranged to _take _what I wanted. Of course, the Justice League tried to stop me. They turned a theft into a war. They turned a harmless event into one of mass killing. On that first Earth I was naïve. I didn't know the tactics then that I know now, the tactics to beat your League with ease. My ship wasn't as _perfect _as it is now. Back on that first Earth, your people had a chance to fight back. Back on that first Earth, I had another ship along with this one. Back on that first Earth, Wonder Woman destroyed that other ship, and my wife along with it."

Kaah was _really _getting emotional now. His fists had clenched. They were actually shaking in anger. Batman, though, stayed quiet. Kaah was doing a good enough job in destroying his own objectivity for Batman to need to bother helping the process, especially as K aah went on.

"Your League attacked first when I tried to take what I needed. Your flying heroes led the assault, of course. The ones called Superman and Green Lantern were chief among them, along with _her_. I was on this ship, _my_ ship, leading the efforts to repel them. Tactically, I held my own against your heroes, especially as I took away their powers whenever they came in too close. A little trick my species developed millennia ago, before we had even encountered people with such powers; evolutions finest moment. Anyway, I was engaging your League _without_ harming the civilians below on that Earth. I could have just destroyed that planet from the start with the main cannon, but I hadn't. I knew the potential of what it could do were it misused, fired into the atmosphere in an _unsafe _way instead of down into the rock. I had no desire to unleash that potential. Not until my hand was forced. My other ship was out of the fighting, you see. It wasn't _involved_ _in the fight_. It held only _my civilians_. I had kept away from yours. Your League should have kept from mine.

"But instead, the one called Wonder Woman broke from the duel, and tore my second ship from the sky. It hadn't the defences mine had, even back in those early days before my ship was improved. It could barely even fight back in _any _manner. And she still destroyed it. There was no survivors. My wife was on _that _ship because she was meant to be safe. _Safe_! But Wonder Woman would not allow it. I know you can argue that it was I who caused the conflict with my actions, _me_, yet Wonder Woman didn't look to me. She murdered my wife instead, an _innocent_. I watched my beloved - and the entire ship she was on - fall from the sky. I watched my wife and hundreds of other innocents die at the ends of your so-called _Wonder Woman_. In that instant, I knew I had to make them pay. That I had to make them _all _pay for what she had done. I no longer had a choice. Your League no longer represented justice. Perhaps it never had. But now, after that moment, _I did_. So I activated my cannon, now very much intended as a weapon, from safely within my ship, and watched Wonder Woman, Superman, _you_, and the entire Earth burn. Every last living creature on that planet _died_. And I swore, right then and there, that every last Earth must fall in penance for what she did. That every last _Wonder Woman _must die."

Once again, Batman just stared at Kaah as he continued his recap of the past. He did not really care about _why _Kaah was assaulting each dimension as he was. It had been clear to him from the outset that Kaah was too locked on his course to be talked out of it, by anyone. Batman would not even try to. He did not even point out Kaah's obvious stupidity. For a man who now spent his entire time hopping between dimensions, he was far too lost in his emotions to know, or care, about how one dimension's Wonder Woman could be the complete opposite of the next. Batman knew _his _Wonder Woman would never perform the actions which Kaah had described. He also knew that it would not matter in the slightest to Kaah.

"I spent a long time gathering the means to accomplish my vow," Kaah resumed again, still sounding furious. His hands had grasped for one of those torture instruments behind him. Batman was sure it wasn't to use it. It was a means to stop those hands from trembling so. "I spent a lot of effort and favours to repair the damage the League had done to my ship in that first battle, but I didn't end there. I had become a soldier of justice, and I needed a weapon to match. So I had my ship turned into one. I had it layered with all kinds of actual weapons in place of many of the drills. I spent months striking fear into my workers to turn them into the obedient soldiers you see today. I assembled a squadron of fighters with pilots who did not care if they lived or died so long as they got the chance to fight worthy enemies. I enhanced my heat drill so it became far easier to be used as a weapon of such devastation, and for a long time to come. And then, I found the witch, the witch to imbue my ship with the same power that my species posses. I had to hunt down many of my own kind so that she could do it. Largely I used criminals set for death anyway to pay the witch's price. For justice, that was a _small_ price to pay. With the witch's help I made my ship impenetrable from the outside. Now, like with myself, no meta can draw close enough to my ship to do any real damage. Like with me, any meta who is close to my ship in any way will find their powers failing them. That means no super strength, super speed, lasers, ice, atomic powers, light projections, nothing. Only when the meta backs away do their powers return, but then they are helpless against me. And with my more standard armaments to stop foes like you, that means _no one_ can get in my ship without me _letting _them in. I couldn't afford the price for the witch to make it so my _entire_ ship could negate meta powers, but with this I don't have to. And, as the last few dimensions have proved, the League cannot even begin to think up a new plan before my cannon has fired and Wonder Woman is dead."

Kaah paused again, only briefly this time, but he was clearly savouring that thought. Batman help off all anger. He wanted to show Kaah nothing but disconcerting neutrality right now.

"But most of the time since my wife was murdered was spent obtaining my Gateway, the device that allows me to take my ship, my weapon and my army to the next Earth on my path to justice," Kaah resumed. "It really is a wonderful machine. In the time since I had destroyed the Earth, people were beginning to talk of replacing its atmosphere, of rebuilding what had been destroyed thanks to cloning the few surviving humans, such as those left in the Green Lantern Corps. With my Gateway, I could put an end to any of those plans. Since you are so obviously intelligent, I'm sure you know that for the Earth to be able to sustain life as you know it, it needs the heat and energy provided by the planet's core. My Gateway needs a remarkable amount of power. The dead shell of Earth just happened to do. It opened my path to the next dimension, to my first stage of vengeance, and it saw to the final end to life on that first Earth. By now, I have repeated the process more times than I wished to count. Every time Earth fell with greater and greater ease, despite the many Leagues and their various efforts to stop me. Every time I made sure that, before the end of her world, Wonder Woman suffered an increasingly agonising death. Every time, I felt one tiny step closer to justice. Now that your Albert Westwood has drawn your dimension to my attention, it shall soon follow the same fate as all the rest, and so shall its version of her. I kept you unconscious while waiting for my Gateway to gain the full power it needs so that it could be activated. Now, this Earth is truly dead, and that time is here."

Batman just continued to stare at Kaah, not even bothering to tell the alien that he already knew that revelation. He had already learned all about that portal device, but he didn't care about what it did to an Earth that was already destroyed. What he did care about was that he seemed to have run out of time before it was ready to allow Kaah's invasion to begin.

"So, you have now heard my story," Kaah still continued to speak, though he seemed more in control of himself now that his tale was done. "Now I would like to know more of yours, as I had initially asked for. _Why_,Batman, have you come here? Why have you done so alone against all the might at my disposal? What was your plan? Surely you should know that if all your strongest combined fail against me, you alone would be doomed to fail too..."

Kaah paused, trailing off on those words and, despite Batman not reacting at all, suddenly seemed to understand. He wasn't _always _stupid then.

"Ah... That's it, isn't it? That's why. Westwood told you because you are not powered. But you came alone for a different reason, the same reason as mine. You're doing this for love. You heard that I was coming to kill Wonder Woman, so you came to stop me. You came alone to protect her, keeping her from me because you knew that unlike a lot of the other threats you face, I can genuinely kill all of your League. But especially her. You, Batman, are in love with Wonder Woman. How... _touching_."

This time Batman maintained his silence for a different reason. He had denied talking about this openly for years, had tried to find a way past his feelings. He had definitely not talked to Diana about how he felt. He definitely would not share it with this demonic alien. However, it seemed he didn't have to.

"Well done, Batman." Kaah was mocking him now. His anger was definitely gone. Instead he was laughing, clapping his hands together in giddy joy. "You have just made this time all the more special. This time I can really obtain a form of equal justice. I could so easily cause you such intense _physical _pain with the tools at my disposal, but now I have a far better weapon to use against her. Just as she made me watch my wife die, I shall make you watch her death. And that of your entire planet. I shall make the one who loves her suffer as she made me suffer. Only once her corpse is no longer even fit to feed the crows shall I permit you to die too."

Kaah broke off again, pushing one of a series of buttons Batman now noticed on the alien's fat metal bracelet. A second later a pair of his faceless soldiers walked into the room, stepping forward to Kaah's side. They said nothing, merely awaiting their master's orders.

"Take this _human _to the barracks. Hold him there until after our next target is totally defeated. Make him watch. Make sure he sees every _second _of it. Once you bring the Gateway through to the next dimension with the rest of the encampment, see to it that he is left behind. I think that would be the time for him and this shell of a world to truly acquaint themselves."

"As you command, my Lord," one of the two soldiers uttered as both bowed low. They immediately began to comply, stepping further forward. Batman was not released from his shackles. Instead, one of the soldiers simply unconnected them from the walls while the other kept his weapon trained on Batman. Batman's manacled hands dropped down in front of him. His feet were released from the hold of the wall too, also chained together. The closest trooper quickly pushed Batman forwards, the other still with his weapon aimed Batman's way as they began to guide him off of the ship.

None of them realised their true mistake. Kaah's overconfidence apparently knew no bounds. He was the ultimate advert that too much success could lead to the kind of mistakes that could bring about failure. They had not literally taken any of Batman's gear of him. They had instead believed they had done it metaphorically, Batman's hands lost in giant metal canisters that were chained together. However, what that actually meant was that they could not see Batman's efforts to free himself from those chains now he was no longer held to the wall by them, especially as both his guards walked behind, pushing him onwards. It would take time but once his hands were free his arsenal of batarangs, gas pellets and the rest would be at his disposal to deal with these guards. Most importantly, he still seemed to have his cryptographic sequencer on him too. He knew that the small device was now the most vital weapon he had.

What was more, in breaking from Kaah's restraints Batman knew he would regain the element of surprise he had lost when he was captured. These aliens obviously had their own thoughts well droned out of them. They shared Kaah's overconfidence, and that meant they too didn't consider that Batman could break free from the shackles. Furthermore, that meant that when he did, his chances of bringing these soldiers down was greatly improved. These guards could well get him off of this ship before it took off to begin the assault, but even if they did, with surprise and the sequencer Batman's efforts to save Diana would be far from over.

But there would still be a lot to do, and Kaah would still have _a_ chance to kill her before Batman could pursue him...

"Don't worry Batman," Kaah said with a wicked smile as Batman was about to be pushed beyond him, causing the two soldiers to temporarily and forcefully halt Batman's slow walk for what was obviously intended to be a kind of parting blow by their master to his captive. "As soon as you are off my ship, it will be time for the attack to begin. You will not be watching for long. Your appointment with the vacuum of this Earth will not be a distant one."

Yet again Batman showed no hint of reaction. He wasn't scared in the slightest for himself. He knew he could escape Kaah's soldiers before they tried to kill him. However, he still felt intense fear, fear for Diana. Fear because the assault he had come here to stop was about to begin. Fear that he wouldn't be able to get free and back to her in time...

With their 'master' clearly done with him, the two soldiers continued with their task of ferrying Batman away, but Kaah's face remained etched in Batman's mind. He was determined that he would be seeing it again very soon, and wiping that grin clean off of it.

Using his mastery of escape artistry, his hands were picking their way out of Kaah's shackles all the more furiously as he emerged out into the typical corridors of Kaah's monstrous craft. As he worked, all his thoughts were centred on Kaah, how he would manage to stop the alien in the fight to come and, in doing so, how he would save Diana.

That didn't stop two words from interrupting those thoughts, the kind of doubting words Batman rarely felt break through his walls of well-earned confidence, the words born from knowing that Kaah's assault was about to begin.

_I hope..._

* * *

**A/N:**

Been a while so I thought I'd best thank you all again for the fandom and reviews this has received so far, and for those to come too. I wrote this for my own fun but the fact people seem to like it too makes it all the better. And its still got a ways to go yet. Stay tuned.

The next bit should be here soon, so long as I don't get too distracted by us winning the Ashes in the coming days.


	13. Chapter 12: The Calm Before the Storm

**Chapter 12: The Calm Before the Storm**

Eventually Diana came back down to Earth, everything else that was going on around her dragging her back down from that high, giddy feeling that had overcome her in Gotham. When she returned Batman's spare armour to the Batcave, she again did so without alerting Alfred or the others. One of the first things that had gone through her head when she had gotten past the revelation about her feelings was that she was not going to discuss this with anyone who didn't already know. Bruce deserved that much, deserved to be the one she told first, and Diana had long heard about Alfred's abilities to read people. Besides, she'd rather not have to face him regarding how she had acquired the armour in the first place.

More thoughts came to her before she actually returned to the Watchtower, things she wanted to sort out in her head before surrounding herself with her friends again, especially as they would no doubt immediately ask her where she had been and what she had been doing. No doubt they would do so out of the best of intentions, but Diana wanted to be in the right mindset before answering them so as not to give anything away.

J'onn may have helped free her of a lot of the anger, confusion and doubts that had been affecting her, may have helped her realise the full extent of why the situation was troubling her so much, may have helped her remember that she was Wonder Woman and not an extension of Batman, but that did not mean she understood everything yet. Particularly, she still didn't understand why Batman had shut them out so much that he had unleashed Kryptonite on Superman and assaulted the rest. Why hadn't Batman at least told _one_ of them what he was doing, what this threat was? Why hadn't he told _her_? Diana may have come to realise that she was in love with Bruce, but that didn't mean she also wasn't angry with him for _that_. It just meant that she would have more time to let him explain when he got back before she started venting that pent up anger his way. That was something else she had learned since leaving Themyscira; the women of Man's World were good at holding grudges against the men they loved. _When_ he came back, _when_ whatever threat he had gone to face was dealt with, she would show him how she had truly adapted to this world, unless he had some very good explanations.

Because she was in love with Batman. It made her smile again, and she had to shake it from her face before she activated her comm.

"Wonder Woman to Watchtower."

"Watchtower, here," Mr. Terrific's voice returned in her ear. "Go ahead Wonder Woman."

"One for transport, Mr. Terrific. I'm ready to come home."

She was not kept waiting for long. Within a second the sensation of teleportation hit her. The next second, she was stood back up in the familiar surroundings of the Watchtower's main chamber. Virtually the very next second after that, the flash of red came streaking towards her, before she had hardly even had the chance to move away from the teleporter pad.

"Wondy, you're back!" Flash exclaimed, pretty much throwing himself into her in a warm embrace. Wonder Woman couldn't hold back the smile, even if she did have to pry Flash off of her a few moments later when he still hadn't let go.

"It's good to see you too, Wally," Diana said to him as she held him at arms length, finally stepping away from the teleporter as she let him see her smile. Up above, she could see Mr. Terrific offering her a sympathetic glance from the control area. Diana's grin remained as she gave Mr. Terrific a look of contentment in return. It was indeed good to see Wally again, even if it wasn't anywhere near the same as if it had been Bruce there to meet her. Her feelings for her friends weren't changed just because she now understood her feelings for Bruce.

"You okay? You all right? I mean, with GL, Shayera and Supes, even Arrow and Question all off hunting for clues, J'onn off with his wife, Mr. T stuck up top and Bats... well, being Bats, I was starting to feel like I was going to have to be acting like the responsible leader around here..."

"I'm fine, Wally!" Diana quickly reassured the babbling young man with a soft laugh. Flash had been talking so fast that Diana hadn't been able to cut him off after his initial question, despite that being her intent. He must've been glad that she had returned. "I just had to go and figure out a few things for a while is all, but I'm back now. You can stick to doing what you do best – being our much needed comic relief, and the League's beating heart."

Flash actually paused and halted as Diana said that. He wasn't used to hearing himself praised in that way, even if he knew that the rest of the League's Founders thought of him like that. Diana kept walking. Flash wouldn't take long to catch up to her and she was suddenly feeling quite hungry. In her days standing vigil over Gotham, she had hardly taken the time to pause and eat a proper meal. Commissary food was not the best around, but right now she suddenly found herself yearning for some, almost as much as she yearned for news of Bruce's return. She could do with getting some proper sleep too having hardly slept a full night during her time in Gotham, but that could wait until afterwards. She had her priorities.

"So what did you figure out?" Flash had indeed caught her up quickly, before she had even taken three steps away from him in fact. It was clear that in her absence he had been bored due to being up here without his usual cluster of close friends within the Justice League. These days most of the Leagues non-Founding members spent the majority of their time at the Metrotower instead of on the space station. Of those who did stay up here, most were either serious types who didn't fully appreciate his humour, such as Mr. Terrific, or people that he actually could hardly talk to for one all too obvious reason, namely Fire. Diana wished she would not become so obvious around Bruce now that she knew how she felt. Hera, she hoped she hadn't that obvious _before _J'onn made her realise the truth. For all she knew, she could well have been.

"How to cope," Wonder Woman answered after a moment's thought without giving anything away. Flash clearly wasn't done, but Diana cut him off before he could try to get her to delve deeper, using the one thing she knew would distract Flash the easiest. "Come on, Wally. Let's go grab some food."

* * *

They had found nothing despite all of their vigorous searching. They'd been at it for three days straight, apart from the obligatory breaks for rest and food, and even they had been kept short and sparse. After several more hours of head scratching and a variety of dead ends, they had been forced to admit that now was time for another of those breaks. There was only so many times that he could stare around that tiny Gotham apartment for more signs of anything they may have missed. There was only so many times he could study police reports and old Cadmus files for any hints about the life of a man he had never even seen. There was only so many times he could listen to Uriah Kincaid be interrogated to see if he might know something that he was yet to tell them. Even if this was for Bruce, even if he would not give up until they had their answer, he needed a time out.

Superman still hadn't figured out how he should be feeling about this whole situation. He knew he wouldn't get to until they had the answers only Batman could give them. This really wasn't the kind of situation Superman liked. It wasn't the kind that he handled well. He liked to face problems head on, to get them dealt with rather than letting them stew and fester. He liked to keep things very simplistic and in black and white. This situation was very definitely a shade of grey. Superman really _didn't_ like that. It made him unable to know how to deal with things. Well, first of all he would be prepared if a threat _was_ coming from another dimension, be on hand to face it and protect the people of this world. It was before and after that where he wasn't sure. Batman was his friend. He knew that Bruce was a good man at heart, no matter what it looked like after the warehouse.

But after Batman assaulted him with Kryptonite... There had better be a good reason for it, and there was plenty of explaining to do. He wanted Bruce to come back to resolve this situation. Now. He wanted answers. He wanted to know if the Justice League and the Batman were still on the same side.

Even Nightwing hadn't been able to give him any answers. He and Robin were supposed to be taking over Batman's patrols of the city, and by all accounts they were in many ways, keeping Gotham's plethora of super criminals under close watch and helping out Commission Gordon however he requested. However, they were also spending a lot of time at the warehouse where Batman had last been seen, trying to repair Kincaid's computer and recreate the means to get to where Batman had gone. Superman had largely left them to it, knowing this could well be every bit as difficult a scenario for them as it was proving for him. However, he had had to know if Bruce had told them anything before he had gone, something that might help him to understand this. He had been very disappointed to hear that the first they knew of any of this was when Alfred had told them that Batman was leaving the city in their hands and that they knew nothing more than what the League had since told them. Coming off the back of the news that they had made no inroads at all into repairing Kincaid's machinery, Superman was left feeling more down about this whole thing than he had been before speaking to the two younger heroes.

There was also only so many times that he could silently stand by and watch the obvious tension between GL and Shayera as they worked so closely together for so long. Apart from his trip to visit Batman's protégés, he had been with those two throughout the entirety of the hunt for Albert Westwood. With Arrow and Question searching other avenues in different places, Superman had definitely felt like he was playing the part of a third wheel, only in this case the first two were well out of alignment.

Superman let those two walk on ahead of him, using the pretence of wanting to speak to Mr. Terrific about League deployments before heading to the commissary with them. He had spoken to the other man, asking if there had been any developments elsewhere regarding either Batman or his mysterious threat, but, with none at all, it had been a short conversation. Of course, with his enhanced speed he could have easily caught up with John and Shayera despite his short stop, but in truth he felt those two needed to be on their own until, one way or the other, they had everything figured out. Until they had, he didn't fancy being alone with them without someone else there backing him up.

And so he had dawdled, hoping to find some other excuse when he arrived at the commissary to leave John and Shayera alone. He was surprised at the excuse he was given when he got there and looked into the room. At the same time, it delighted him too.

"Diana!"

She was back. These past days most of his focus may have been on Batman and the mission, but it hadn't been uncommon for him to start wondering how Wonder Woman was. After seeing her leave the conference room like that three days ago he had certainly been concerned. It had only been his trust in J'onn that had stopped him going after her then, in performing his duties as her best friend.

Now, relief was instantly washing over him, especially as he could see her smiling. Whatever had caused her to act like that, J'onn must have handled things well. Superman didn't dawdle any longer, literally taking off and flying over to Wonder Woman, dragging her into a hug she was obviously very surprised to receive, especially as it lifted her clean from her chair at one of the tables. He quickly let her go when he realised the spectacle of it, before sheepishly taking a seat beside her. Only then did he realise Flash was there too, causing him to feel a little more awkward at his reaction. He never realised that he had been so glad to see that at least one of his two closest friends was back that he had completely forgotten to get any food.

"Told you I wouldn't be the only one to do that," Flash muttered, actually looking slightly smug with himself. So at least Superman wasn't alone in reacting rather excitedly to her being back here. His embarrassment lessened, somewhat.

"I'm fine, Kal," Diana quickly interjected before he could even ask the question that was on his mind. Clearly she had just been through all this once with Flash and wasn't desiring to go through it all again. Superman wanted to press her for more. He had been so worried when she had essentially stormed out of that last Founders meeting. It wasn't like Diana. Even Batman had not done that before, not without at least announcing where he was storming to and why. He may have been overjoyed that she was back, may have faith that J'onn's way of handling things was working, but he still wanted to know why she had left in the first place, just in case Diana was simply putting on a brave face right now. If it hadn't been so clear that she didn't want to talk about it, then he would have pressed her for more, but Superman wasn't the type to deliberately upset his friends, no matter the reason.

"I'm glad," Superman simply said in response, not knowing what else _to_ say. "Are you back... _long_?" It was his attempt at subtlety. It wasn't very subtle.

"I did everything I had to go and do, yes," Diana answered with a nod. "Besides, I never really left. I just had a couple of things to figure out, and I have done now. I was just about to ask Flash; have I missed anything in the last few days?"

"Nothing worth talking about," Superman shrugged it off, meaning it. Living it the first time had been enough, considering just how little they had to show for it.

"You can say that again," Flash added under his breath, but Superman just went on.

"I've spent all that time with Shayera and GL trying to figure out where this man Albert Westwood has gone, but there's no trace of him. He hasn't been home since that night you found him gone, and no route we've tried has led us to where he could be. So in truth, we've spent the three days trying to find out more about what's actually going on, and only gotten to where we were at to begin with."

"It's times like this that we really need Bats," Flash commented again. "He'd have been all over this like a rash. Probably would have had Westwood found and squealing ages ago. Well, actually, Bats is probably the only reason he's hiding in the first place, but you get what I mean..."

Superman saw Diana suddenly tense at the mention of Batman's name. He remembered back to when he found Diana destroying all the robots they had in the training room, apparently out of guilt for not having tracked Batman down, back before his attack on them in the warehouse. No doubt she felt it still, even after her time away. Come to think of it, that was probably the _'figuring out'_ that she had been doing. She certainly seemed more like her usual self now than she had in those hours between Batman's initial disappearance and her own departure.

"How are Lantern and Shayera handling this?" Diana asked. She didn't sound too interested, not really. She sounded a lot more like she was just looking for a new distraction from any mention of Batman. Superman was willing to comply, if only to avoid risking accidentally causing Wonder Woman to leave again.

For the first time, Superman looked over to see John and Shayera were indeed in the commissary. Seeing Diana there had not only made him forget to get some food, it had distracted him into not even noticing that they were there too. They were still sat together, with no one else seated with them. They were also still in the midst of a... _discussion_. Argument would likely be a much more accurate word for it. His super hearing told him they were still on the topic of the hunt, about what they could do differently and what they could do next, but there was certainly an unspoken subtext to their words, especially in how they were saying them. No wonder no one else had sat with them in here.

"Same as ever, from the looks of it," Flash answered before Superman could, throwing some fries from his tray into his mouth, chewing and swallowing at lightning pace. "When it comes to actually sorting this, GL's quicker at dodging than I am."

Superman smiled at that. "And with Shayera's lack of patience, it's not a good combination. I'm starting to think nothing will sort those two out short of a long weekend alone locked away with nothing but some food and water to distract them from the bed."

Diana laughed now, a snort that expanded into an ongoing snicker, not least of all because of who had just said those words. Despite them being very mild relatively speaking, the far more adult meaning behind them was clear. Superman could hardly believe he had said them himself. He knew Batman's 'Boy Scout' nick-name for him was accurate even if it was unwanted. Flash was too busy eating away to join in, though it looked like he was ready to spray food all over them if he couldn't keep his laughs at bay.

However, there was suddenly no more time for talking. After three long days of nothing, the situation had chosen then to unfold, and not in a good way.

"This is Mr. Terrific to all active Justice League personnel aboard the Watchtower," the voice of the man suddenly began ringing out over the entire station's intercom system, reaching out to every single Leaguer there. Already Superman could tell things were bad. It was the only explanation for such a widespread message. All heads in the room, including John and Shayera, had looked up from their food and conversations to listen to Mr. Terrific's words. Well, not Flash. He kept eating, but then he would be finished by the time the message ended anyway. "Everyone report to the teleporters now. We have an Omega level alert. A cross-dimensional portal has opened up over Athens, and one hell of a space ship has just flown through it. And it has a hell of a lot of guns. _And _they've started shooting. All active League personnel on Earth are already on their way. This is going to be a tough one."

* * *

Batman's threat had arrived. Wonder Woman leapt up from her seat as soon as the message ended. Superman and Flash were even quicker than her, leading the mass exodus from the commissary and back towards the teleporter chamber. Diana was not far behind, but she lacked their respectively amazing speeds. She was slightly glad that the two men had gone on ahead of her though, and also that John, Shayera and the other heroes who had been in the room were not catching up to her. She didn't want anyone seeing her face in the moments it would take to reach the teleporter chamber, knowing it would take that time to regain her focus and hide her feelings.

She knew this would be Batman's threat, the one he had gone to face. She had known it as soon as Mr. Terrific had said _cross-dimensional portal _so close behind _Omega level alert_. There was no other possibility. It was just too much of a coincidence otherwise. And that scared her deeply.

It wasn't the coming fight. Wonder Woman was not scared of facing any enemy. No, it was the wider implications, the ones beyond her own self that scared her. For one thing, if the threat had made it to their dimension, it meant that Batman had not stopped it after three whole days working against it. In turn, that meant that this alien ship, or at least the people aboard it, must be tough. _Really _tough, considering all the other enemies Batman had single-handedly thwarted. And that meant innocent people might get hurt, no matter what the League could do to help them.

Mostly, though, Diana was completely scared for Batman. If the threat had made it here, if Batman had failed to stop it, there was likely only one reason. Bruce was far too resourceful, far too determined and far too _good_ to have just given up and let this attack begin. That would mean he would either have been captured, or worse.

Hera, why had he had to go alone? Would she ever get to know what happened to him?

He couldn't be dead... He couldn't be...

The only thing she could do was decide to believe that Bruce was still alive out there somewhere, perhaps even on that ship, still trying to bring it down. So soon after realising she was in love with him, she couldn't believe now that Bruce was dead, not if she were still to be able to fight without her feelings getting in the way, and it seemed that right now the world _needed_ her to fight well. Once this threat was defeated, then she would let her worry for Bruce in full.

Or, hopefully, by then she would know that she wouldn't have to. By the time she reached the teleporter room, her face was set for battle again, her body prepared for what was likely to be one hell of a fight if so many Leaguers were required. As for her mind, Bruce would always be there now.

As she and all the others were teleported down in a hurry, without needing to hear any more of what they were heading for, she just hoped that wasn't the only place Bruce was. Hera help these attackers if it was.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Again, thanks for the reviews/favourites/follows. Its all much appreciated. Keep them all coming! This thing has a fair way to go yet. You'll not be surprised that the action is about to come thick and fast for a while._


	14. Chapter 13: Escapology

**Chapter 13: Escapology**

Kaah was as good as his word, at least as far as one aspect was concerned. It took several minutes to get that far, but Batman had barely been pushed off of the alien despot's giant ship when the huge rumbling sound announced the activation of Kaah's 'Gateway' device. Batman, now in the open air under the energy dome containing all the life and atmosphere left on this Earth, watched as the cloudy, half-open dimensional tunnel suddenly solidified before his eyes. By now it really was huge enough for Kaah's entire vessel to easily slip through despite its intense size. Kaah did not depart straight away, though. As those same two soldiers continued pushing Batman away towards one of those temporary garrisons he had scouted out earlier, hordes of those smaller vehicles – the fighter craft – launched up into the air from all around him. A select few were left behind, clearly as transportation for those who stayed to guard him as well as to carry the Gateway back to Kaah, but there were still more than enough taking off to give the Justice League plenty of trouble. Every single one of those fighters roared forward with a blast of jet engines, streaking over Batman and through that now fully open dimensional tunnel like a swarm of deadly insects hunting their prey.

Batman would have to trust that the Justice League could handle those fighters without him. He would also have to trust that they would hold out for long enough against Kaah himself until he could arrive. The vast ship, death weapon and all, was only a minute or two behind those fighters, launching with an ear-splitting rumble that made the scorched ground beneath Batman's feet tremble and shake. In his heart Batman was extremely worried about what that could mean, based on what he had seen of that ship in action from those recordings taken in those other dimensions where it had already destroyed the Earth. But he had also seen the Justice League in action, had seen Diana in action, and he had seen it enough to know that they wouldn't be taken down easily. They just had to hold on long enough until he could reach them. _She_ had to hold on long enough so that he could save _her_.

But reaching them was taking longer than he had hoped. The shackles were tough. Not for one second did he allow himself to believe he would fail to find a way out of them, but it was slower progress than he wanted. Initially he had hoped to have broken from them before those two soldiers even got him off Kaah's ship, despite knowing there was every chance he wouldn't manage that. He knew that to destroy the fiery weapon before it could kill off the Earth and everyone on it he would have to be aboard that ship. Being escorted off of it now wasn't necessarily a problem. No one may have been able to penetrate Kaah's ship before in all those other dimensions it had assaulted, but in none of those instances had there been a Batman with the knowledge that he had. He had a plan. He could get back aboard Kaah's ship easily enough. He just had to be in the right position to get close enough to it, and for that he needed his hands free.

Kaah's capital ship was slow moving. By the time it completely disappeared through the vortex, Batman and his two companions had arrived at their target barracks. With all the departures, it and all the others near it felt like a ghost town, they were so empty. Most of the soldiers who had stayed behind were gathered around the fighters that remained in this dimension, or they were guarding the Gateway device itself, still active since any Earth had only the one core to power it – the Gateway could not be shut down and restarted, not until it was somehow taken to Kaah in his next dimension.

Batman was very unceremoniously shoved forward deeper into the tent by his two guards. One of them stood back near the tent entrance, just as it had Kaah's main chamber. Its weapon was trained on Batman menacingly, as if just daring him to try something and give it an excuse to fire. The other soldier stepped forward between a row of benches and towards a device in the centre of the room. It was very obviously alien, but it was also very obviously a kind of television monitor. The screen looked almost liquid, but the trooper still just clicked a button on the device's side to make that screen light up and reveal a moving picture.

The angle of the images alone showed plain as day that it was being transmitted back here by cameras built into Kaah's colossal ship. Batman had seen such pictures before, when he had came across Kaah's personal reel of all the deaths of the Wonder Women from the other dimensions. For a brief moment Batman felt the fear hit him again, fear that he might be about to see that event unfolding once more, only this time in a far worse fashion. Then he remembered the shackles, and his ongoing efforts to work his way out of them. After that, those pictures were motivating instead of terrifying. Seeing that ship emerging over a daytime, fully living city spurred him on, especially as he saw the ships guns begin to open fire. It made him work quicker, so that he could be ready before too much damage was done.

Before she was gone.

"Ovada Kaah says you are to see this," the soldier who had activated the monitor snarled at Batman, stepping towards him once more. It put both hands on Batman's shoulder's, shoving him down into a sitting position along one of those benches lining the room. It clearly felt big and important right now, both from having Batman in this seemingly weak position and in doing such a task at the personal behest of his "Lord". That feeling would be drastically changing as soon as the shackles were off. "So you will watch. If you so much as glance slightly away, your death shall be far worse than what Ovada Kaah has proclaimed for you. I shall see to that personally. I can promise you, you will not enjoy it."

"I'm glad to hear it," Batman sarcastically growled back. There was slight defiance in his tone, but he also put in enough false acceptance and obedience to make that soldier move away to go stand by its friend at the rear of the barracks. That left Batman able to twist so neither trooper could see his hands, doing so under the pretence of looking closer at the screen.

The battle had begun. It didn't take long to pick out enough landmarks to know that it was all unfolding in the skies above Athens. The Parthenon already looked like it was smoking from the various guns of Kaah's ship and those of his fighters. A huge part of the city looked in similar shape too. No doubt Kaah had chosen Greece as his target because of Wonder Woman's links to that country through her Amazon heritage, with the fiend unable to target Themyscira itself due to islands protective spells preventing him from directly finding it. Kaah would be trying to make her suffer more, as if Diana didn't feel compassion for all beings regardless of race or nationality.

Every one of the guns at his disposal – other than his main cannon – had been attacking the city below, an obvious attempt to get the Justice League's attention due so many innocent civilians being placed under a very serious threat. Sure enough, it was only seconds before the flashes of light signalled that the League was teleporting in. For the sake of those civilians, they had to, no matter what it could mean for themselves. The military couldn't do anywhere near as much as they could for all those innocents. Instantly Batman could see the League split into two groups, one to attack, one to defend, but his eye – and the cameras – were drawn to only one particular form out of the many.

The alien weapons seemed to focus on Wonder Woman too, albeit not entirely, not with so many other powerful heroes assaulting them along with her. They had to concentrate fire elsewhere too, otherwise the fighters, at least, would fast be destroyed themselves. Wonder Woman didn't seem to have a problem deflecting away enemy fire on her bracelets as she so characteristically lead the fight back on the attackers, but, having seen it happen before in those tapes, Batman knew that that would not last forever.

Luckily, she didn't have to last forever. It was in that moment that he achieved his latest step on the path to saving her. He had freed his right hand.

With his body twisted, that was all he needed. He had long ago mastered many forms of stealth and subtlety. Those two soldiers supposedly watching him were obviously not adept at guarding such a resourceful captive. They likely had never had the opportunity to do so before. It took only a slight adjustment in posture so that the screen displaying Kaah's assault on Earth also became a perfect mirror for him, showing Batman exactly where those two soldiers were stood relative to himself.

Perfect. Time may have been running out, but now Batman was no prisoner. His guards were just yet to realise it. Able to see them, and particularly where they were looking, it was simple for him to slowly retrieve the ultra-lockpick from his utility belt. With that in hand, it was easy enough to subtly loosen the manacles of his other hand and both ankles without either guard becoming any the wiser of what he was up to. He was loose. Now he just had to take those soldiers' weapons out of the equation. These two had already told him that they may be good soldiers, but they weren't the sharpest knives in the drawer. Neutralising them wouldn't be difficult, and sometimes the old ways were still the best.

He coughed, a hacking cough that caused him to double over. It was faked of course, but the troopers wouldn't know that. It didn't matter if they did or not. One way or the other, he would draw the soldiers in. Either they would be worried that their master's latest victim was dying before they had a chance to kill him, or they would want to see through their promise to kill him early for taking his eyes off the screen. Whatever the reason, they would not just stand back and watch. He continued to cough to get the attention of both of them.

"I said don't look away from the screen!" the soldier who had spoken before barked out in rage. Batman just continued to cough, keeping himself haunched to the extent he couldn't see the screen at all. A few seconds later came the growl of rage, then the tell-tale sounds of footsteps. Two sets of footsteps. This was too easy.

"He said don't look away!" the second soldier's voice sounded out, just as angered as the first. It was followed by the sensation of two hands grasping Batman roughly by both shoulders, hoisting him up to his feet in a sharp motion. As soon as Batman's face was level with the soldier's faceless mask, he stopped coughing. He struck instead.

With both of his forearms he slammed outwards into the inner elbows of the soldier grasping him, striking so fast and with such surprise that the soldier had no chance of holding onto him. Of course, to get hold of him that soldier had had to take his weapons out of his hands. That meant his comrade was now Batman's main target. With the first one still in shock from Batman's attack, it was easy enough to shove him into his friend, hard. The second guard was more muscular than the first, but that did not help him against the weight suddenly crashing against him. Both fell to the ground, one on top of the other. Both were now unarmed.

But they were still _armoured_. Batman remembered the fight he had had with the soldiers prior to being captured in the first place. Their armour was tough. Striking it alone might have the potential to injure him, especially at his joints. Right now, while he was still in this dimension, he couldn't take any unnecessary risks of getting hurt, especially over just two simple soldiers. Not when Diana, and the whole world, unknowingly needed him. It was a good job, then, that he didn't have to bother fighting them bodily.

With both guards disarmed and momentarily stunned on the ground, another of the anaesthetic gas pellets – like the ones he had used on Shayera and Flash – would do just fine. These alien's seemed to breathe the same as humans did, even behind their helmets. He was ready to take the chance that the gas would work the same on them too.

The pellet was between the two fallen soldiers and billowing the gas forth before either had begun to move. Their helmets and masks indeed did nothing to protect them. In fact, those soldiers were out of it far quicker than any human – or Thanagarian, or any other race for that matter – Batman had ever used the gas on had been. That meant their scrambled attempts to get out of the way were futile. Both made it out of the smoke, but they had already breathed in enough. Both collapsed back to the ground barely a second after they had scrambled back up from it.

Now Batman really was loose.

He wasted no time. He had none to waste. Behind him he knew the battle was still raging away on that liquid screen, but he didn't take a second look back at it. For one thing, he couldn't risk what he might see. For another, he was far more interested in seeing what was happening on _this _Earth right now, beyond the barracks he had been held in. Being sure to remain unseen from the lip of the barracks' entrance, he looked over across the empty areas of Kaah's army camp, over to where the remaining fighters sat waiting.

Batman had not forgotten the return device that was still in his utility belt, the one Uriah Kincaid had given to him so that he would not be trapped in this dimension. If his objective was simply to get back to his dimension fast, then the return device would have been his solution. But his objective was more important and far less simple than that. He didn't just have to get back. He had to get back in such a way so that he could rapidly get aboard Ovada Kaah's assault craft before the fire cannon could be unleashed, and before Diana was killed. He had a different plan to accomplish that.

Batman was going to turn Kaah's own machinery against him. He would commandeer one of Kaah's remaining fighters, and then pursue the despicable foe through his very own Gateway. With that, he would then show Kaah that his colossal ship was not so impenetrable.

And then he would prove that Kaah's ship was not invincible either.

He saw the other soldiers stood around those fighters. There was a decent amount of troopers, possibly too many for Batman to take on alone, especially in the daylight and out in the open, conditions they were in right now. However, he didn't have to beat them all. In fact, he might not have to beat any of them. He just had to make his way past them all, and that was something Batman definitely could do.

It didn't take him long to select one of the fighters to make his own. The soldiers were fairly well spaced around the score of vehicles, obviously intending to cover all the craft equally. They hadn't done a perfect job of it. Good, but not perfect. The ships were not laid out evenly or in a particularly organised fashion, not all in a perfect grid square. There were outliers, separated slightly from the main bunch. Craft that were not so perfectly, endlessly watched.

And one of them was painted matte black. Batman did what he rarely did; he smiled. That was the one. That one would be his.

Having scouted the camp once before, it wasn't difficult for Batman to move fast across the terrain, around to the distant fighter on the opposite side of the landing field to his own position. He maintained stealth all the way, keeping watch on the positions of every one of the soldiers and making sure that none of them could see him. Just in case, he kept a sonic shock batarang firmly in hand. He already knew that they worked on these soldiers, even through their armour. Batman was always prepared.

He was close in no time, having the extra motivation to push himself even harder than he normally could. He had kept to the shadows of the temporary structures every step of the way. That meant that he was leaning around the corner of one such structure, looking across at the fighter he had chosen. The soldiers watching the ships were patrolling, even with them all surely believing they had no one to guard their craft against. After all the overconfidence Batman had seen from these aliens he had no doubts that none of them would have considered that he could break free from their clutches, even if they knew that he was still amongst them.

Right now, there were only two soldiers anywhere near Batman's chosen craft. He could have waited for them to simply move on; judging by their respective courses and that of their fellows, Batman deduced that his chosen fighter would not be guarded for long, that there would soon be a window of opportunity to just walk on through. However, he didn't even have that long to sit around and wait any more, even if patience was one of his many virtues. With Diana at stake, there was no longer any room for such patience. That meant that facing only two soldiers was good enough.

The sound of the air splitting was soft but obvious enough as Batman unleashed the sonic shock batarang from his hand. He aimed at the more distant of the two, stealthily flinging the batarang straight at the soldier's throat. It struck, sending shockwaves throughout the aliens being, causing it to collapse to the scorched earth, spasming.

Batman did not wait long before he was flinging himself at the other soldier. It was closer, and also facing away from Batman's position. Seeing the batarang fly past and bring down its fellow alerted this soldier that they were under attack. It began to turn, to look for the source of the assault. By the time its eyes came upon Batman, the caped crusader was on the soldier.

This one couldn't be brought down with a gas pellet, not while still on his feet and able to just step out and away before the gas could consume it. Even if the gas did work quickly on these aliens, those first two had been stunned and floored; this one was neither. Batman also had only limited numbers of sonic batarangs left, with a strong suspicion that he could well need to save them for when he reached the endgame of this whole thing.

That meant that this solitary soldier would have to be taken down the old fashioned way.

Batman's foot slammed into the soldier's midriff as he charged from his cover, flinging himself at it through the air. The trooper, caught off guard, was sent doubling over, instantly winded. But Batman wasn't done. He quickly had his elbow slamming up beneath the alien's mask and into its less heavily protected throat.

One of the alien's hands grasped for its bruised neck, but its other remained on its gun. This one was in the right profession, then. The weapon began to train Batman's way. The alien even got a shot away. However, it wasn't quick enough. Spotting the attack coming, Batman was able to dodge the electrical energy blast, even if his cape did get left with a scorching hole at its base.

Ducking low, Batman both avoided the shot and got himself perfectly positioned. Crouching almost on the burnt, dry soil, he pivoted on his left leg, sweeping out both of the soldier's feet from beneath it with his extended right. That had the soldier crashing to the floor hard on its spine.

Batman was then rapidly back up on his feet, flinging himself forwards with gusto as he leapt through the air. He landed atop the soldier, both knees crashing into were the ribs would be had the soldier been human. They may have been there on it too, and if so Batman knew that his act would be incredibly painful. Good. He might not kill even these deadly aliens from another dimension, but, especially after what they were trying to do, he had no problem with causing them great pain.

That wasn't the end of things, though. The soldier groaned in pain, but was again making as if to fight back and throw Batman off. Batman wasn't about to let it have the chance to. With lightning reflexes, he slammed his gauntleted fist into the alien's throat again, and again. After that, it was a simple job of slamming his head into the ground repeatedly. Even if Kaah's deadly fires had left the ground softened, the action still sent the alien soldier's brain rattling.

Shortly this soldier would no longer be giving Batman anything to worry about. It still seemed to be conscious, but only just. It was then a simple matter of kicking its weapons away from its hands, seeing as this one didn't seem likely to be able to move any time soon. After the blows to its throat, it wouldn't even be able to call for help. Still, remembering that first alien he had fought, Batman was also careful to make sure this one had no form of alarm on its belt.

It didn't take long for Batman to satisfy himself that he was in the clear. He then dashed on, and was at his fighter in seconds. Climbing up on the wing, he scrambled his way into the cockpit of the craft, the glass canopy sealing itself automatically as soon as he sat down, his cape carefully folded up beneath him.

Now he faced what could have been his next big problem. Looking down at the fighters entirely digital, touch-screen controls, Batman couldn't make heads or tails of how to make the craft actually take off, let alone do all that he needed it to do. Luckily, he was still prepared. The cryptographic sequencer was still fully programmed in his approximation of Kaah's alien language and, thanks to Kaah's overconfidence, that device was still on Batman's utility belt. He smiled again as he drew it.

Batman quickly had its hazy translations before him. Instantly after that, he knew which buttons to press and he did not wait to press them. Around him, he felt the metal hull lift him and itself up several metres into the air.

It was just in time too. Either because of the launch or by finding their fallen fellows, the other soldiers still in this dimension had now detected his presence. Unfortunately for them, it no longer mattered. Batman was away. There was nothing any of them could do. It was even too late for them to warn Kaah. With the knowledge Batman had gained earlier from the big, destructive ship's computers, there was no way Kaah could stop him from making it on board the devastating vehicle.

The enemy fire was raining around his ships as Batman threw the engines into forwards thrust. The fighter flung forwards at great speed, pushing Batman back into his seat even harder than he was used to from flying the Batwing. None of those soldiers' shots got anywhere near him, not even scratching the fighter's hull.

The soldiers soon had no chance at all of doing any damage, as Batman's ship disappeared into the still open portal. Batman was away. He was returning to the prime dimension, and he would be there in no time at all. He was well on his way to once again attempt to save the entire world from a deadly foe.

And to save Diana.

Just so long as he wasn't already too late.


	15. Chapter 14: Space Invaders

**Chapter 14: Space Invaders**

The fighting had begun the instant the Justice League had arrived on the scene. The arsenal of guns around the outside of the much larger craft had continued to reign their fire down onto the historic city beneath it, and onto all the civilians amongst the buildings, despite the sudden arrival of heroes ready to stop them. However, the smaller fighter craft – every last one of them – had turned their attention onto engaging the Leaguers heading up to halt that deadly assault on the city below. And there was a _lot_ of those craft.

The League had immediately split into two groups the moment they had arrived without the need of a command; those who could fly and those who couldn't. Those limited to the ground weren't fighting as such, not exactly able to from down there against these foes. Their job was to get as many of the civilians still in the city to safety as they could, away from the obviously alien guns before they crumbled, burned and died with their city under the attacks. Flash, the only flightless Founder available, lead that task, but the likes of Green Arrow, Black Canary and Elongated Man were giving him plenty of able back up. They could all be trusted to do their jobs. Wonder Woman had to focus on hers.

Superman may be quicker in a race, but she was the one leading the charge. A combination of her warrior spirit and her feelings for Bruce sent her hurtling for those fighters before her mind had even caught up with her body. Shots from those craft began soaring her way, but with great reflexes she batted every last one aside with her bracelets, flying straight through the first three craft to come at her before the rest smartly decided to get out of her way. Crushed metal was twisted in her hands as all three craft began plummeting to Earth, decimated and certainly out of the fight. Their pilots had just about enough time to eject if they wanted to live, but if they did then they would be easy takings for the Leaguers on the ground.

Wonder Woman didn't pause. All hell had broken loose around her as the others flew into action only seconds behind her. Once again the group had split in half. Superman and J'onn had lead a group of the flying Leaguers after that huge main ship which now decimated the skies. Even with the vast number of fighters around, that ship seemed to have more guns firing and, more importantly, had the ones that were targeting the innocents of Athens. Superman was a guardian far more than he was a warrior, after all. That was his part of the battlefield. _This _was Wonder Woman's.

That meant that Wonder Woman could focus all of her efforts on these smaller ships, with Green Lantern and Shayera chief among those fighting fiercely at her side. From that very first fighter craft, Wonder Woman had discovered that these things were tough, but not tough enough to stop her fists ploughing through them as if they were made merely of paper, even if doing so did seem to remarkably graze her knuckles. However, with GL's ring, Shayera's mace and more up there along with Wonder Woman's gods-given power, even that strong a defence wouldn't be enough. So long as their offence was kept at bay, anyway. There were so many that if Wonder Woman had time to stop and think she would have to admit the chances of them all making it through this alive would be slim.

The red of the enemy's gun fire was mixed with the green of GL's ring and many other flashes of colour as the fight immediately raged in the otherwise calm air. Wonder Woman added some cold, metallic grey into the mix as she hurled the remains of those fighters she still held in her hands at some of the other craft out there. Her aim, as always, was true. The pieces struck hard against one of the remaining intact fighters as it was firing away at another of the Leaguers. For a second it looked almost like the chunk of wreckage was just going to bounce off the other ship's canopy. It probably would have done if Wonder Woman had not been granted such incredible strength with which to hurl it. As it was though, the thrown debris smashed the nose of the dart-like fighter it hit clean off. Before she could even take a breath, both halves of it began to drop like a stone, the tail still following the nose down despite the break.

Wonder Woman watched it go. That meant that she saw the pilot eject before the ship crashed down in a ball of flame into the waters beside the city. More, she saw where the pilot was going. The ship had been out of control when the eject occurred, so the pilot was shot out unevenly too. Even with the spiralling, uneven angle, Wonder Woman could instantly tell that the rapid trajectory he was almost flung along was sending him straight into Stargirl.

The younger hero was looking the other way, using her staff in a kind of dogfight with more than one of the alien crafts. The humanoid-looking pilot of the fighter Wonder Woman had just destroyed wouldn't have been targeting her, nor would he likely be able to do anything to attack Stargirl, not in his current situation. But he was going to hit her, and that would distract her and knock her completely off balance, perhaps even hurt her greatly just by the impact. In turn, that would leave her open for her current opponents to actually kill her.

Wonder Woman would not allow that to happen. She flung herself forwards. Merely shouting a warning would not be enough. Over the din of the battle, only those with super-enhanced hearing would be able to hear it, and Stargirl had no powers other than those provided by her staff. Enhanced senses were not among those.

Luckily, Wonder Woman was quick enough. She flew hard and fast, intercepting the projected pilot still strapped firmly into the cockpit's chair. She could take the impact safely where Stargirl could not. Catching hold, seat and all, she dragged the pilot out into empty skies. As soon as she felt the pilot's parachute blasting open from within her grasp she let go, allowing the alien to fall, safe in the knowledge he could no longer do any harm to anyone but himself.

Stargirl had no idea what had almost happened, but Wonder Woman was not about to stop and tell her, even if there had been time. The fight went on all around them, and she was going to get back to it. In next to no time she had flown right back to the very heart of the action again. Only seconds later she was bringing down another of those fighters, this time by literally smashing the cockpit canopy apart with her fist and simply hurling the pilot clear, complete with his seat so he could still at least use the built in parachute.

As that latest craft plummeted beneath her, Wonder Woman flung her bracelets up just in time to block a shot from a ship she had only just seen coming at the very last second. She didn't know if these were shots that could kill outright, especially given her incredible endurance against injury, but she also didn't want to find out. That fighter was not going to get another chance to educate her in such a manner.

Wonder Woman flung herself towards it, dodging to one side and ripping off an entire wing. It took a groan of effort against the unusually strong resistance of this fighters metal, whatever it was, but she did it in single motion. Yet another fighter down; it went spiralling towards the Earth and a fiery end. That was six she'd destroyed, and she was only just getting started.

That was when she first noticed her sudden_...popularity._ Wonder Woman was still clutching onto that detached fighter wing when the real fire came at her, heavier than anything that any of those fighters had thrown her way yet. She had to drop the wing fast and throw up her wrists. The impact of the weighty blasts against her bracelets was enough to push her backwards through the air. More of that heavier fire came her way instantly after she deflected that first round, almost in an endless, intense stream. She kept deflecting them away, arms a whirl of motion as they covered her entire body, but she was being pushed back and back, and back further still. What was more, she could hardly move other than to protect herself from this current attacker, so much of her focus was needed to keep _these_ shots at bay. If one of those fighters locked onto her now from a different vector...

The green shield intercepted the energy being flung her way before any of the fighters had a chance to make the most of her predicament. Looking up, she saw that Green Lantern had arrived to help her out. She issued him a quick nod of thanks before flying away to engage and destroy what had been attacking her; the best way of defence, the _warriors _way of defence. Wonder Woman flew fast and in a loop around the shield John Stewart had thrown up to protect her, doing so in a manner so as to not allow her assailant the chance to shoot at her again. John helped out, keeping the shield close to her as the weapons continued to try and track her way regardless of her action.

It was then that Wonder Woman saw that it was the giant assault ship that had begun targeting her. And it was now completely, solely targeting her. _Her_. Every one of its guns with even the merest fraction of an angle on her seemed to be tracking her, shooting at her. None of the other Leaguers were being targeted. Not John, not Shayera, not any who were attacking that ship directly. All that could was coming at her, the rest remaining to fall on the innocents below. The people on that vessel seemed to have taken a liking to her. Well, she would just have to show them that that was a big mistake.

John's light shield dropped just as she reached the vast vessel. Her fist was primed and ready to smash the nearest set of guns into oblivion. The guns suddenly stopped shooting. Wonder Woman felt for sure that it was because whoever was controlling them knew that they were lost. She would teach them a lesson for daring to shoot at her.

Or she thought that she would. As her fists struck the metal gun barrels, they didn't even crack, or bend. Instead, it was her hand that felt more like it was broken...

Wonder Woman didn't understand it. With her strength, she should have smashed right through those guns, not just bounced off it with knuckles that stung like Tartarus. She tried again, and again, and again. She wasn't one to surrender. Ever. Apparently, though, she was one to be beaten. Not one of her strikes did anything to those guns, and she knew that she couldn't keep this up. She had to stop her assault. Her hands really would break, if there wasn't fractures there already. Injuring herself so for no reward would not be wise.

What was happening? She couldn't be losing her powers, she was still hovering in the air far above the ground. But then, why was that gun still in place...? She hadn't had the chance before to look and see how Superman and his group were doing. Now she couldn't help but wonder if they were suffering the same problem that she was. Perhaps this ship was defended against their abilities somehow. Perhaps...

No. Whatever the case, whatever the reason for those guns remarkable toughness, it no longer mattered. The gun barrels were now turning Wonder Woman's way again. In that moment it definitely seemed as if they had merely been taunting her by ceasing fire during her attempted attack, not that they had given up. It was like they had known that her fists would not be able to even scratch their ship. It was like they had wanted her to find that out for herself before they killed her, like they wanted her to feel despair and failure.

Wonder Woman did not like being mocked, not by her enemies, rarely even by her friends. Her instinct was definitely to fight, to show these enemies why they shouldn't think they had the right to taunt her like they had. Unfortunately it seemed that, for now, she hadn't the weaponry _to_ fight. John seemed to have realised it too.

"Diana, get out of here!" he hollered over the din. He had flown towards the guns with her as part of their two pronged attack, clearly still protecting her. Now Wonder Woman saw that Shayera was doing so too in her own way, using her mace to smash any of those fighters out of the sky that came too close. And several were trying too, swarming her way when other Leaguers weren't keeping them pinned down elsewhere. Every one of these enemies seemed to be targeting Wonder Woman now.

It was like all of this had just been for her. Like this entire attack, this threat to so many people's lives, was to try and kill _her_...

"Amazon's do _not_ run!" Wonder Woman yelled back. She wasn't one to give up. A possible solution to her predicament had just come to her. She knew one part of her repertoire still worked against these things.

Those guns had twisted her way again. Holding her ground, they were still almost point blank they fired. Wonder Woman had her bracelets flung into place instantly, deflecting the energy bolt sent her way. She had angled her bracelets expertly. The shot bounced off them, and straight back into the weapon that had fired them. There was smoke where there had been fire. For a second Wonder Woman thought that it had worked, that the guns were destroyed. Then the smoke began to clear.

The guns were still there. They were still undamaged. And they were fast firing at her all over again.

Wonder Woman deflected the shots again and again, still sending them back into those guns. Every time, the deflected fire caused no damage at all against her attacker. Every time, the strength of those shots pushed her further and further back, just as they had done before only now exacerbated by her proximity to the guns and the power that meant the shots still held. This close to the colossal ship, this was the only set of guns close enough to be able to twist to target her. With the way its fire was pushing her back though, that wouldn't last long, and she hadn't enough arms or enough bracelets to take on any more of those guns at once, particularly not this close in.

"Diana, go! NOW!" John sounded firm this time, determined, commanding. Worried. Wonder Woman hated this. She hated to admit it, but it seemed that she no longer had a choice. Even for an Amazon, retreat was better than death. At least then she could fight on again later, when she had figured out _how_ _to_ against this enemy.

So she flew. John threw up another shield around as many of those enemy gun barrels as he could, allowing Wonder Woman the chance to get some distance between herself and that colossal ship. All those guns still seemed to focus on her, even now that she was clearly in retreat, their shots thundering against John's shield. Whoever these cross-dimensional aliens were, she must have really pissed them off. _Somehow_.

Scores of those fighters followed her flight, tracking her every bit as much as those guns on the main ship. If not for Leaguers like Booster Gold and Stargirl engaging them, no doubt all of them would be doing. Wonder Woman had to defy all her instincts and just keep flying away. Stopping, even to fight, even to defend, was not wise right now. Thankfully, John and Shayera were on her tail too. Wonder Woman could hear Shayera's grunts as her mace was slung time after time into those fighters, smashing a lot of them to pieces while John continued to try and guard Wonder Woman, and Shayera, with his ring.

Wonder Woman may have been running from her attackers, but she was doing so with a plan. Even now, she wasn't just fleeing. Instead she flew smartly, intelligently, _tactically_. She was drawing those fighters in closer, using the buildings down below and the other fighting Leaguers to tempt them ever nearer for the chance of sending a potentially killing shot her way. And whenever the fighters got nearer, there was Shayera to finish them off. It was the one good side of having so many enemies honing in simply on her despite having so many members of the Justice League as potential targets. Wonder Woman may have been forced to run because of them, but in a way she was still fighting, still seeing to the destruction of so many aggressors. And her ploy was working.

At least, for a while it was. Trying to draw in another couple for John and Shayera to take care of, Wonder Woman flew low, incredibly low, so as to minimise the risk of anyone on the ground being hit by mistake because of her necessary action. Because of that, she almost flew straight into Zatanna as the witch was getting a young family out of a crumbling nearby building, leaping out into the street and into Wonder Woman's path. She just about dodged out the way of her despite having so little a warning, but she didn't dare look back to make sure Zatanna and her charges were alright. She shot straight back up into the air instead, to try and protect Zatanna and the innocents, to try and keep enemy fire meant for her from hitting them. She was also expecting to have the pair of fighters set up perfectly too, as well as a new path out into the skies to find Shayera some more targets. But she was unable to know for sure, as she had been with her manoeuvres up until then. Her sudden dodge of Zatanna and the others had meant that she hadn't time to look up at the skies to check.

That meant she flew straight into the trap.

A ring of enemy fighters surrounded her. The green blast quickly carved through a bunch of them on one side of her, but Wonder Woman still had the rest threatening her. She had to stop and engage. Her only other choice was death, and that wasn't a choice she was about to take.

Using her bracelets to deflect the fire from those quick enough to get shots away, Wonder Woman flung herself into the rest, ripping them apart. Being forced to run had got her formidable temper building, and she took it out on these enemies who had tried to ensnare her.

Unfortunately, that wasn't enough. Between her and John, all of the fighters that had managed to trap her were soon nothing but wreckage on the ground below, smoking against already collapsed – and hopefully evacuated – buildings. The problem was that those fighters had done enough to make her stop, and that they had many fellows to back them up and finish off the job. Worse, with both Wonder Woman and Green Lantern busy taking out _these _craft so that she could get away again, all of her protection was gone.

Well, not quite all of it. But all of it that could shield her safely.

Wonder Woman didn't even hear the shots coming in from behind her as she was tearing apart the last fighter in her path. With her wrists and bracelets buried deep in the crafts wing, she might not have been able to stop the blasts, even if she had known they were coming for her. Either way, Shayera saw to it that she wouldn't have to defend herself. Her shout of "Diana!" was enough to signal to Wonder Woman that things were happening behind her.

She spun just in time to see it. It was those guns up above again, the ones on the humongous vehicle. The fighters had made Wonder Woman stop long enough so that those guns could track onto her again. And Shayera had seen it. The Thanagarian had flung herself in the way, trying to intercept the shots on her mace so that Wonder Woman would have the chance to get away again.

Hera, why did Shayera have to be so brave? She was able to block a few shots. If they had had a single second longer that would have been enough. Then John would have been able to shield them all for as long as was necessary for them to escape again. Alas, they didn't have that second.

The pain of Shayera's scream was intense. It was horrifying to hear as even just that one shot got through. It was fast piercing clean through Shayera's left wing, the smoking hole through the feathers immediately visible. Luckily, by then Shayera's shout had alerted Wonder Woman enough to be able to then deflect the shot away safely on her bracelet as it carried right on through towards her, but she was instantly terrified that for her friend it was too late.

"Shayera!" John screamed for both of them, his voice full of his own terror. The green shield formed to guard both women as he yelled it, protecting them from more fire from that ship, but Shayera had gone limp. No longer conscious, she began to fall from the sky.

Right then, Wonder Woman could not just continue to run. She flung herself after her friend, as John had clearly intended her to do when he did not simply catch Shayera with his ring. He was too busy protecting Wonder Woman so that _both _women might have a chance, keeping her covered with his ring all the way as her path became vertical.

Wonder Woman only just made it in time, catching Shayera only about a metre from the ground. Instantly Wonder Woman felt some minor relief. Shayera was still alive. She could feel her friend was still breathing, that she still had a pulse. However, she could also tell that Shayera was hardly in a good way, meaning the relief was minor. _Very _minor. Shayera's life might yet not last long for all she Woman kept on flying though, intent on not letting those guns have the chance to finish both her and Shayera off. John flew with them, keeping very close, his own feelings for Shayera blatant in that moment.

Wonder Woman only stopped when the red blur emerged in front of her. She and John both landed instantly where Flash had come to a stop waiting for them, John immediately forming a shielded dome around them to stop any enemy fire getting through.

"What happened?" Flash instantly exclaimed at the sight of the limp Shayera in Diana's arms.

"She got hit!" John snapped sharply at Flash. Angrily. Uncharacteristically. Obviously in reaction to _who _was hurt, and all that was unsaid between himself and Shayera, all the things that had not been done. Wonder Woman kept calmer, though she didn't feel like doing.

"Get her to safety, Wally," she instructed, handing Shayera over and into Flash's arms. It was abundantly clear that Shayera would simply be safer _anywhere_ that was away from Wonder Woman right now. "Find her a medic. Fast."

"I'm on it," Flash said back, in a kind of reassuring voice. He would have been gone barely before he had finished speaking if he hadn't had to wait for John to open up a gap in his protective shield for Flash to run out through.

"You okay, John?" Wonder Woman then said, turning to the shocked looking Green Lantern and resting a hand on his shoulder. In that moment it was as if the entire battle had ceased all around them as emotions took over. She knew the potential repercussions of what she was saying, but she still had enough heart to say the words. "Go and be with her if you have to. I'll understand, and so will everyone else."

"I'll go to her," John responded, looking to Wonder Woman, though it did take him a second to overcome the obvious shock and find the words. His face then suddenly became set again, just like the marine he was. "Once we're done here. Once the people are safe."

Both heroes then smiled and nodded at each other. They knew what had to happen now. It was hard, but Wonder Woman forced Shayera off of her mind. There would be plenty of time for worry when other people weren't in danger too. What emotion was left over from seeing her friend so hurt would be turned on those that had dealt the blow. With that, John opened the shield up some more, ready for them to get back to the killing field of the battle and the game of cat and mouse that Wonder Woman had become so embroiled in.

However, they didn't make it overly far before Diana heard the distant Superman say the name.

* * *

With Diana having immediately led the fight against the smaller craft the second they had all transported into the battle, Superman had taken the lead of trying to stop the domineering larger vessel from threatening the League and the many countless civilians still alive down below. Straight away he had surged towards it from where the League had teleported onto the scene. As always, he didn't want to unleash the full extent of his powers. He dare not. Even with that ship trying to kill so many innocent people, Superman was not going to fly in and kill all within it. But he was going to stop them.

Or least he had every intention to. As soon as he reached it, the man of steel pounded on that ship's hull with both fists, intent on getting inside and convincing whoever was controlling that ship to surrender, to face justice or at the very least leave. Unfortunately, even with his great strength, no matter how much of it he unleashed, he couldn't even dent the hull. He tried a different approach, trying to split the ship apart at the seams instead of the simple brute force approach. That didn't work either. Neither did his heat vision. Neither did trying to freeze the hull to make it more brittle. Neither did combing those powers into one all out assault. Minutes of battle had gone by, time during which many could have been killed, and he was nowhere near getting inside, nowhere near getting to where he had to be to save people.

Worse, he was not the only one. J'onn couldn't get in either. Even when phasing himself out of his solid state, that ships hull seemed to make the Martian solid again. Superman also saw the tell-tale signs of J'onn attempting to use telepathy to get someone within to just let them fly inside through an open door. When nothing happened, Superman did not need J'onn's words to tell him that that didn't work either.

"I can't connect with any mind inside it. I can't get in," J'onn told him, the two heroes flying close together during their respective failed efforts. Superman used his enhanced vision to look at everyone else's attempts to get into the colossal ship, to see if anyone else was having better luck. Several other Leaguers beside J'onn had followed him up here. He particularly noticed Diana trying and failing to destroy one of the ships guns, among the rest.

"It doesn't look like any of us can," he grimly commented, not even stopping to think about how he and J'onn weren't under any sort of attack themselves. "What _is_ this thing? Why can't we get through it?"

"Magic."

It wasn't J'onn who had answered, but Superman certainly knew that voice. He quickly looked over his shoulder just as the glowing ankh vanished behind Dr. Fate following the magicians sudden arrival.

"Somehow the hull of that ship has been magically enhanced to negate all the effects of any kind of powers, including those of other magics," Dr. Fate expanded. "I can try to remove the spells guarding this hull so that you can get inside, but it may – and almost certainly will – take time."

Superman did not need to think about his answer. They may not have time, but they also had no other choice. "Do it."

Dr. Fate disappeared as soon as he had arrived, another glowing ankh ferrying him away before vanishing just as its conjurer had. Superman knew that Fate had gone to get clear of the fight so that he could concentrate on what he needed to do without fear of being shot at. Superman looked at J'onn. He didn't need telepathy to know that the other man was sharing his thoughts. There was now seemingly nothing either of them could do against the large ship, not until Dr. Fate had, literally, worked his magic. After what he had just said, trying again through their means would just be wasted energy.

"Let's help bring some of those fighters down while we wait," Superman commanded, unable to just sit back and watch. J'onn nodded agreement. The fight was still going on out there. Superman saw many of his allies engaging those fighters. He didn't look out for anyone in particular. He just knew he had to join them, to help protect them. After all, he was the practically invulnerable one.

He could see a huge amount of those fighters in a single group. There might be more elsewhere, but these had caught his attention, and so they would be his first targets. Captain Atom was engaging them fairly close to the portal through which all these ships had arrived. It was still there in the sky, vast and reminiscent of the one through which the League had once engaged the Justice Lords. Whether it was maintained because these attackers wanted to go home or not he didn't know. With that not looking like going back through it soon, he didn't care either. Superman flew hard and fast, right into the midst of those fighters. Even as he travelled he was using his heat vision to take the wings off every one of those ships in one fluid motion. Not ending there, he used his speed to fly around and catch each of those falling bits of wreckage and fling them all back through that dimensional portal to where they had come from. Whether they planned to or not, he would send this villains away.

"Thanks for the assist," Captain Atom said in his accented voice, flying over to Superman's side as both assessed the rest of the battle and where they had to be next.

"No problem Capt..." Superman began to say but instantly trailed off halfway through the word. With his enhanced hearing he had heard a sound from the dimensional portal that was now behind him. For a second he thought it was the impossible, that he hadn't quite destroyed at least one of those fighters as much as he had first believed. He quickly convinced himself that that was wrong, but the sound was alone was enough to take his eyes off of the battle and back to the portal, to see what else it could be.

And that was when he saw it. It was another one of those fighter ships, a _new _one. It had just emerged through that vortex, different from the rest of the metallic grey fleet; it was a pure _black_ fighter. Superman was about to bring it down too, as was Captain Atom. For some reason though, he decided to use his x-ray vision on it first.

It was a good job too. Instantly any attack of his on that fighter was left forgotten. He only just stopped Captain Atom from his own intended efforts to destroy that ship, but he managed it. He had to. He had just seen who it was flying it. He couldn't stop the word escaping his lips at the surprise of it.

"Batman...?"

* * *

"Batman...?"

That was what Superman had said. It was hard to hear over all the sounds of the battle, but Wonder Woman had no doubts about what she had heard, even at this distance. For whatever reason the words just hit her so clearly. She quickly looked up to see where Superman was, suddenly forgetting all about all those many, _many _guns that were trying to kill her. When she finally saw him, she quickly saw the fighter he was staring at, open mouthed in obvious shock. The _black _fighter. Remembering Superman's x-ray vision, she instantly knew who was flying that ship. It didn't put a genius to put two and two together.

"Bruce..." she breathed herself, causing John to look up too. He clearly hadn't heard Superman like she had. He wouldn't know. His ring cased them both up again as both paused stare at what was going on.

She was too focussed on Bruce's return to barely even notice as Batman did what no-one else could do. From within that enemy fighter, he opened up a hole in that vast alien ship that was trying so hard to kill her, almost as if he had just hit a remote door release. He didn't stop there either, sending his fighter zooming fast into the hole he had created, none of the enemy vessels all around them even launching a single shot his way, as if none of them realised that he wasn't on their side.

It had happened again. Wherever and whenever the rest of the Justice League failed to find a solution to a problem, they could always look to Batman to find a way.

Virtually every member of the Justice League seemed too shocked to react quickly enough. For Wonder Woman, though, that wasn't a problem. She knew for sure that Superman wasn't wrong. Bruce was back, and now he was on that ship. All Wonder Woman knew in that moment was that she had to go after him. She didn't need to stop and think, and so there was no need for her brain to process it. She was just gone.

Thankfully John opened enough of a gap in his shielding to let her through. Even if he hadn't, Wonder Woman thought that he might not have been able to stop her, that in that moment her strength outmatched anything he could throw at her. However, he wasn't quick enough to follow, to guard her from assault as she gave chase. This time though, he didn't have to.

Wonder Woman flew so fast, so determinedly, that suddenly none of the many gun blasts still coming her way from both the big ship and all the fighters could even get close to her, despite her hardly doing anything to dodge. She just flew hard, relentlessly so. She knew where she had to be, and this time she would be damned if she didn't catch up to him. She only stopped when she made it inside the colossal war machine, beyond the reach of those guns and where she knew Batman was, very much alive.

For now, anyway...

She landed in what was obviously a hangar of some kind. Superman was not far behind her, but none of the others made it with them. Obviously Kal was helped out by being the one to see Bruce return in the first place, but everyone else was clearly that second or two too slow in giving chase. Wonder Woman didn't look back, but she didn't have to. She knew instinctively the hangar must have sealed again behind them barely a heartbeat after she and Superman had made it inside, blocking everyone else outside. But looking back to confirm it was only time wasted, time when she could be going after Bruce.

However, Batman was already gone before she had even landed. The fighter he arrived in was there, the cockpit wide open from where Bruce had left it. From the look of a pair of fallen alien soldiers off to one side, it wasn't hard for Wonder Woman to figure out which way Bruce had gone. She immediately went to go after him when Superman grabbed her arm to stop her.

"Diana, wait!" he said to her, as if she was doing something crazy, gesturing the opposite direction to where Bruce had gone. "I can see in this place now, _through_ it. I couldn't outside, but I can now. There's a power source that way. That's where we need to be to stop this ship. That's where we can bring it down and stop all those cannons at once. That has to be our priority here, regardless of...other developments."

"You go," Wonder Woman quickly snapped back, making sure that her voice left nothing in doubt. Superman would have to carry out his plan by himself. She had somewhere else to go. It wasn't like she was abandoning the innocents after all. Bruce would have a plan of his own to stop this ship. Bruce always had a plan, and between him and Kal, right now she knew which one _she _had to go help. "I'm going after Batman."

She didn't wait around after that to let Superman respond. She took off, flying along after Bruce's trail. She was determined that she would catch up to him, that she would find him, and that she would help him put an end to all this.

And that she would make sure that he was alright, that he made it through this. For so many reasons, Batman could not be lost to these villains.

Behind her she could tell that Superman had indeed departed for his method of stopping the colossal ship having failed to talk her into helping him, but she didn't care what his method was, nor how well he had taken her rejection of it. Not right now. Right now, she just had to get to Bruce.

And make sure that now she knew he was still alive, he would stay that way.

She _needed _him to stay that way.

* * *

J'onn was fractionally too slow. Too late had he telepathically recognised Batman's arrival into the midst of the battle, and too late had he recognised both Wonder Woman and Superman flying off in pursuit of Batman as an opening appeared in the main attack ship. That meant that, despite him giving chase behind the three heroes, the opening had sealed again by the time he got there, and all he could do was collide into solid metal. Hard.

John Stewart was at his side a moment later, catching J'onn after the impact temporarily stunned him. J'onn quickly took flight on his own again, the two men hovering side by side in the air, looking out over the battle.

"So Batman's back then," John commented to the Martian as they both looked at the chaos still going on in the skies over Athens.

"Indeed," J'onn simply returned. No more needed saying. Both knew what that simple fact could mean, for everyone and such a select few at the same time.

And so, without further ado, both men then flew back into the heat of a battle that didn't seem anywhere near ready to end.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_A combination of the Ashes and the start of the football season means that progress has been slightly slowed lately, but I'll try to have the next bit released pretty darn soon anyway._

_Once again, I also say cheers for the latest reviews/follows/favourites. As ever, more are always appreciated._


	16. Chapter 15: The Heart of the Matter

**Chapter 15: The Heart of the Matter**

Until that moment, Kaah had been extremely enjoying this battle. It wasn't too dissimilar to the ones that he had watched over most recently before this one, but that didn't lessen its value. Nothing would ever make him _not _enjoying watching these events unfold, no matter how many times he brought them to pass. Granted he had lost many of his fighters, but that always happened, and they were expendable and replaceable. Their purpose was to bring about Wonder Woman's demise before he set off the main weapon, and so far they were in the midst of fulfilling that purpose right according to plan. Seeing her flee like that as she realised she could do nothing against his ship, seeing her friend get shot while trying to protect her, seeing the look of extreme worry on her face, it all made Kaah smile supremely. He had known that it had been only a matter of time until another version of the wench who had killed his beloved was wiped from existence, another metaphorical gravestone lining the path to justice.

And it wouldn't have taken much longer, especially with one of her two guardians lost.

But then _he_ had joined the fight. _He _had returned to his own dimension. Kaah had to admit it; he had under-estimated the Batman. He would never have expected anyone to escape his soldiers, let alone someone who was just a mere man dressed up as a flying rodent. But not only had Batman done exactly that, he had also stolen one of Kaah's own assault fighters, learned to fly it _and _used it's on-board computer to programme one of the hangars of Kaah's lead ship to open up and let him inside. It was the first time since his crusade had first began that _anyone _had made it onto Kaah's flagship uninvited. He actually respected Batman for pulling that off. It _was _impressive, there was no denying it, however undesired it may have been. Kaah would reward Batman a quick death for his ingenuity.

But Kaah was not angered by the turn in events as he might have been. No, instead he found that he was amused by them. He found himself actually _glad _of them. They made him enjoy this battle even more than ever before.

Batman was not the only one to have come on board. Wonder Woman had followed him in before Kaah's people had gotten the hangar sealed once more. In all the dimensions that he had killed her, Kaah was yet to do so with his bare hands. Now, thanks to Batman's act of defiance, Kaah would be able to do exactly that. No superhero could beat him, not with his ability and his strength. _That _would be enjoyable. _That _would be more justice. Superman was on the ship too, but next to Kaah's justice that was inconsequential. That man could do nothing to take this moment away from Kaah. Wonder Woman would be dead, and this time, she would fall at his very feet.

"Jamalok." Kaah called out the name of his chief lieutenant, breaking himself from his reverie. It was a summons, and it was immediately answered.

"My Lord," Jamalok responded, stepping forwards from his duties and bowing before Kaah. Jamalok was Kaah's best soldier. He was also the only one in Kaah's army who was not one of Kaah's former miners militarized by fear, other than some of the near-suicidal fighter pilots, coming from an entirely different species altogether. Jamalok was initially a mercenary, a gun-for-hire with no trace of morality, but the prospect of travelling dimensions to kill the Justice League had appealed to him so much he negated any pay for this job. It may not be personal for him as it was for Kaah, but Jamalok had taken this quest against those heroes to heart, not least of all because of the chance to truly test himself in battle. When not around Kaah, Jamalok was a powerful being. Taller than Kaah, much thinner, bald and a dull grey in colour, Jamalok had incredible strength of his own, and he had always itched for a chance to go toe to toe against Superman. He was about to get that chance.

"Some of this dimension's Justice League have remarkably made it aboard our ship," Kaah simply informed his best soldier. As he spoke he stared at a screen showing footage from his ships interior recording devices. He had seen how the three members of the Justice League that had made it onto the craft had almost instantly split apart. Wonder Woman was chasing Batman – who was far ahead of her – clearly heading right for the ship's command deck where Kaah now was. Superman, however, was heading elsewhere. "Two of them I shall take care of myself. Superman is yours. Prevent him from damaging my ship. Show him the true meaning of justice. Dispose of him, however you see fit."

"Yes, my Lord," Jamalok bowed again, only this time with a massive smile on his face. This was a task he would definitely enjoy. Kaah smiled too as Jamalok stood from his bow and departed fast to head the Kryptonian off. Kaah doubted very much whether Jamalok would be able to handle Superman in a straight fight. Kryptonian strength was legendary in any dimension, but of course, to properly utilise it Jamalok had to engage him a straight, fair fight. Kaah knew his soldier well; he would be smarter than that. If he did engage head on, then it would be with a plan. Kaah didn't know whether or not he could trust Jamalok to protect his ship, but he did know that Superman would be dealt with, and ultimately the ship could be replaceable too once its task here was done. He just needed Jamalok to buy him enough time so he could gain satisfaction.

As Jamalok's path, took him distantly away from the bridge, Kaah's eyes were very much fixed on the internal recording footage again. In particular, his entire focus was on the two outsiders separately heading his way, so much so that he no longer cared at all what was happening with his fighters and their ongoing battle with the rest of the Justice League.

He was definitely going to enjoy her death this time, and Batman could die with her. Kaah looked over to one of his other lieutenants, merely giving them a nod of confirmation.

It was time for the end to begin.

* * *

The passage through the cross-dimensional portal had been near instantaneous. Barely a second after launching through Kaah's gateway Batman had returned to the prime dimension. The hell that had been going on around him had been obvious straight away, but he had had no problem in blocking it out, even if it was his allies out there, potentially staring death in the face. He had only paused for the briefest of moments. The realisation that Wonder Woman had survived this until now did that too him before he could stop himself. It was the only reason why the battle would still be raging like it was, why Kaah would not already be firing his world-destroying weapon.

Since he had made it back in time, there was no point in wasting any more. It didn't matter where she was out there, so long as she was alive. He had somewhere else to be, somewhere where she still couldn't follow him.

And so he had gotten instantly back to work. It had been simple to programme the fighter to open up the larger craft with what he had learned earlier from Kaah's computers, only taking the merest of moments typing. With none of these aliens possibly knowing that one of their fighters had been compromised, not a single shot had been sent his way as he effortlessly sent his requisitioned craft into the breach, settling it down within the hangar of this no longer impenetrable hulk with ease.

It had also been simple taking down the soldiers that had been there in the hangar when he touched down. Just as with the fighters outside, none of them had expected to see a pilot other than one of their own. Batman leaping from it, batarangs flying, definitely had the element of surprise. That meant none of them could do anything but fall as he attacked. In turn, that meant that Batman could quickly depart the hangar for where he really needed to be, leaving the stream of unconscious bodies behind without even a second thought. Having learned the ships schematics from his raid on it before, he also knew the quickest route to where he had to be.

Batman knew without any doubts that the only way he could be sure to end this was to go after Kaah himself. That was why he had decided it was time to catch the train.

It wasn't far, and it would save him a lot of time in reaching the bridge on such a huge craft. That was good, seeing as from the looks of things outside they wouldn't have long until the end anyway. Without it, he might have had no chance of pulling this off. Whoever had built this thing had clearly intended to make it easy for someone to cross from one end of the ship to the other, so long as they knew where they were going. The ship was so vast that it took internal monorails to see to that instead of mere elevators, and one of those lines ran right from the hangar straight up to the distant bridge.

Batman ran as soon as he was out of the hangar, leaping over the soldiers he had already felled. No doubt there would be many more between him and his target, but he was in no mood to slow down. Indeed, as he ran he rounded a corner through another one of those dark corridors he almost ran head first into a squad of three troopers. When he spotted them, he slammed into them before they could react, rather uncouthly rugby tackling the first one to send all three to the ground like a trio of bowling pins. Throwing himself up like an acrobat, he came down with fists slamming into two of their helmets, both feet likewise slamming into the third's. And he wasn't done there, using all the fighting skills he learned over the years to make sure all three soldiers were going to stay down. And he did it fast.

When he rolled back to his feet moments later, he saw another pair of soldiers running towards him from up the corridor. One of his carefully saved sonic shock batarangs brought them both down, perfectly placed right between the two troops so that he would not be stopped by them for long. Batman then resumed his charge, again hurdling unconscious soldiers on his way.

Ferociously driven with even more motivation than the Batman normally had, he reached the monorail bay fast. However, it wasn't quite fast enough to catch the train, not as anyone regularly would. Elevated so as to run on a roof mounted track, the train was just pulling away when Batman got there and was beginning to really pick up speed. Batman could see the soldiers stood on the open carriage staring back at him. They must have known that he was coming, likely because of the commotion caused as he beat down those last soldiers. Either through fear of him or to try and stop him getting on the train, they had set it in motion.

But that would not be a ploy that worked. Batman did not hesitate before firing the grapple. It caught the handrail of the open topped train before it managed to pull too far away from him. Batman just had time to brace before the tug struck as the grapple cable reached its limits. Suddenly and at great speed, he was dragged away after the departing train, cape billowing behind him. The pace was so intense already that it was enough to lift him clear off the ground as he was pulled after the train like a fish caught on a line. Utilising the grapple's potential, Batman quickly had it reeling him in closer that train before he wound up being slammed into a wall by the rocking effects of the monorail. At these speeds, that would not be good.

With air rushing all around him due to the train's velocity, he was flung up onto the carriage only moments before the soldiers on board it managed to shoot loose the handrail where the grapple had attached. The handrail fell clattering away down the tunnels, but even the grapple had released it, let alone Batman. Anyone else would likely have not made the landing cleanly, but he wasn't anyone else. Landing in a crouch, in no time he was on his feet, a perfect example of readiness, the grapple back in place on his utility belt.

There was six of those soldiers on the flat, narrow train with him, all now facing Batman. If it wasn't for their masks Batman was sure they were all staring at him in disbelief right now. He stared them down for only as long as it took to make sure his footing was sure following his landing. In short, he was on all of them in a flash, pouncing on their hesitation. They wouldn't get a chance to make their numbers count.

An exploding batarang was at the feet of several of the bunch in no time. It wasn't strong enough to warp any metal, nor kill through the soldiers' armour. But the shock wave _was _enough to send two of them sprawling over the edge, right where the handrail had been until they had so unceremoniously removed it. The sound of them both tumbling along the monorail tunnel made it clear the fall was extremely painful, exacerbated by the rolling caused by sudden deceleration. Good. They deserved the pain for what they were doing. Those who had managed to stay on the train with Batman would be sharing in that pain soon enough, too.

Three of the remaining four were either forced to stumble to maintain their balance or were simply knocked to the floor of the carriage by the blast. The last one was still standing. It got a shot away at Batman with those electric energy guns, but Batman dove away from it, rolling forward to stand just beside his attacker as the air whipped around them. Just as he had in the other dimension, Batman slammed his elbow into the soldier's less armoured throat. At the same time, the palm of his other hand was striking the soldier hard in the torso, right were the diaphragm ought to be. With it wounded and knocked back, it was then a simple matter of ducking low, hoisting the soldier by it's standing leg and sending it flying over the remaining chunk of handrail and after it's two fallen comrades.

But there was still three more on the carriage with him. Batman had been fast against his latest victim, fast enough that those three had not had the chance to shoot him yet. Now those three were back in the fight, balance and stance regained. Their guns were on him, trained ready to fire. Unfortunately for them, these ones were not ruthless enough to just shoot when they had the chance. Even if they had been, of course, Batman had a plan. It just so happened that he didn't have to face the more dangerous situation.

"Surrender, scum!" one of them shouted over the sound of air whistling by them all. Batman's reaction was subtle. He said nothing, keeping his scowl on them as he stared down the three gun barrels pointed his way. He even slowly began to raise his hands as if showing these people he was surrendering.

But he wasn't surrendering. The grapple was firmly placed in one of those hands once more, slyly placed there on his hands slow rise with the soldiers focus primarily on his head. With these soldiers thinking they had him, the shock of the grapple firing prevented them from shooting their guns. The grapple's line had wrapped itself around the legs of the rearmost of the three. They were just looking to see what it was that Batman had actually done when he hurled the grapple off the train.

The soldiers feet were dragged out from under him. Just as Batman had been earlier, the soldier was suddenly whipped off after the grapple, flung clean off the train by his sudden lack of speed compared to the carriage. On the way, he just happened to crash into his two comrades. Some got shots away, but they were all wild. Not one came even remotely close to hitting Batman.

And with those two knocked over again, it was simple to finish them off. With flung fists, feet and knees he had both of them beaten before either could get close to firing again. And when they were beaten, Batman just had to throw them over the side too. The pain was too good for them anyway.

Now Batman had the carriage all to himself. After making sure the train was programmed to go all the way to the command centre via the sequencer, he had nothing to do but wait for it to arrive. When it did, he would be just around the corner from the bridge.

And from Ovada Kaah. Knowing that, Batman took this time he had to ready himself again, settling his breathing from the action he faced to get this far in preparation for the action that was to come next.

For _that _was a man who truly, unquestionably deserved extreme pain for what he was doing, for what he planned to do. Batman was going to stop Kaah, just as he had told him during their little "talk" in the alternate dimension.

He _was _going to save her.

* * *

Batman was long gone. As soon as she had left Superman and the hangar behind her, Wonder Woman had followed the unconscious bodies as far as she could. But then the corridors had become suddenly devoid of them, no sign of any as she looked up and down. Worse, there was more than one direction which he could have gone from where she found herself, counting at least three of them. It would have been so easy for her to break down in doubts right then and there as she struggled to know which was the right path, but she was Wonder Woman, and Wonder Woman did not do that. There was nothing else for it. She simply made a choice. Picking a direction, she flew down it at maximum speed, and could only hope that she had chosen correctly.

Wonder Woman was instantly worried she had picked the wrong direction when the soldiers appeared before her. Batman wouldn't have left them standing if he had already been this way. However, that didn't stop her from fighting. Inside this colossal vessel, she had no arsenal of cannons to need to run from, no swarm of fighters chasing her to damnation. She could obey her warrior instincts. She could fight.

The soldiers were numerous, but they were no match for her. Cramped by the corridor, there was not enough angles for the barrage of gunfire they sent her way to be a problem. Wonder Woman simply batted all the shots away using her bracelets as she flung herself forwards towards her attackers. Soldier after soldier fell under her endless assault. She felt armour crack and even some bones break under the blows of her fists and feet. She may have felt bad at the level of pain she was causing them if these people hadn't been trying so hard to kill her and so many innocent others. As it was, she simply did what it took to bring this array of soldiers down. Short, of course, of killing them.

Those soldiers fell in no time under the power of Wonder Woman. Physically they seemed about as strong as a human might be, perhaps even as strong as the toughest regular human, but they were no match for the mightily enhanced Amazon. Soon, Wonder Woman had them all laid flat out, most of them unconscious, the rest on the verge of being.

It was then that she quickly realised two important things. Firstly, all her strength was back, her powers fully returned to her. She had used them without even remembering how they had failed outside against those gun cannons, them being so second nature to her these days. Whatever had hindered her outside, it clearly wasn't permanent, nor was it in play in here either. That was very encouraging, so long as it lasted. Secondly, she had figured out how to know where she had to go, where Bruce would have gone. She knew him, better than a lot of people did. She could also see how he would think. Well, _almost _see how he would think, because no one would ever really know how Batman thought, not about everything. But right now, she had a very good inkling.

Wonder Woman quickly looked back down at the array of soldiers she had so easily felled. She quickly found the one who looked the most like they would still be able to talk. Without hesitation she drew her lasso, flinging it around the soldier. When he just groaned, Wonder Woman tugged on her end of the lasso, hard, dragging the soldier somewhat up to his feet. The soldier looked ready to simply keel over, unable to stand if she wasn't forcing him to. It was a good job, then, that her questions wouldn't take long.

"Where is this ship's commander?" she demanded, voice firm despite knowing the lasso would force the soldier to tell her the complete truth regardless of how she asked the questions.

"In... In the command centre," the soldier answered gruffly, voice sounding weak. It was very apparent from it's tone that the alien was trying – and failing – to resist.

"And where is the command centre?" Wonder Woman pressed, a real sense of urgency coming through now. The soldier once again gave her the answer. His directions sounded long. It would likely take her a few minutes to get up there and, no doubt, Bruce would have found some form of quicker way. But Wonder Woman still _knew_, deep down, that she had predicted Batman correctly. That was where she would find him, no matter of how quickly he got there.

As soon as the masked soldier was finished Wonder Woman unravelled her lasso from around it, letting it fall back to the deck in a heap. After the exertion of talking, it was unconscious like its fellows as soon as the lasso was released. She was already flying off after Batman as she was returning the lasso to its place on her hip. No doubts she would find more of these alien soldiers to engage on the way, but all they would do would be to slow her down.

She _wasn't_ going to be too late to reach Bruce this time. She was going to ensure that he not only finished his long running quest to end this threat, but that he survived it too. They were going to put an end to this, and they were _both_ going to survive it.

She was determined about that.

* * *

The train had arrived at the bridge, slowing to a grinding halt at the buffers at the end of the line. Two soldiers were stood in the exit from the monorail tunnels, but another two-in-one sonic shock batarang took care of them both before the train had even come to a full stop.

Batman quickly surged away from the train once its journey was done, leaping down to the decking below now the train was no longer moving. The doorway to the bridge was right there before him, opened wide. That was enough to get Batman's attention. He had been expecting a fight just to get those doors open, a lot more than just those two soldiers could offer. The fact that all the soldiers who ought to guarding the bridge were merely stood to the sides as if guiding him to it really made his brow furrow.

"I know you are there, Batman," the voice of Ovada Kaah rang out from within the bridge when Batman cautiously held his ground in the exit of the monorail chamber, despite not actually hiding from those troops. "Do not fear. I have instructed my soldiers to no longer bother causing you what is obviously only delay. Come on to my bridge. After your efforts in getting this far you deserve a noble death, and that means I shall take care of you myself, with dignity."

Batman slowly stepped out from the monorail tunnel after hearing Kaah out. He knew the man was not lying to him. He had Kaah's character well judged. Sure enough, none of those soldier's even drew their weapons as he stepped out into the brief corridor between train and command centre. They actually looked more like an honour guard than an army.

Batman turned all his attention onto Kaah and his bridge. The room was octagonal, with Kaah stood alone in the centre. He was on a platform level in height with the corridor, but all the bridge controls, and its controllers, were in seven lowered pits around the sides of the room. No doubt Kaah had designed the bridge to literally elevate himself above all others. Behind the vile scum, opposite the bridge entrance, was a window to the outside realms. It was made of simple glass, or some alien equivalent, no doubt protected magically just as the rest of the ships exterior surfaces were. But its purpose was obvious. As well as through his archived recordings and his live cameras, Kaah used that view to watch his crusade first-hand, to view all those versions of Diana die with his own eyes.

He would _not_ be doing so again.

Kaah himself had that demonic smile on his face again, once more full of overconfidence about what was about to happen, despite all the surprises Batman had already pulled against his _unbeatable _weaponry. Batman didn't need to look into Kaah's malicious eyes to also realise the fiend's true plan for this fight. It was nothing to do with nobility or dignity. That was just a cheap rouse that would never succeed against anyone brave and able enough to get this far. No, it was Kaah's intention to kill Batman as a means of torturing Wonder Woman via the loss of a..._colleague_.

Batman said nothing as he stepped onto the ships bridge, but he did glance subtly at the control screens around him. Even without the cryptographic sequencer to translate for him, he could see the signs that Kaah had now begun to activate his devastator cannon. Like with the Gateway before, Batman knew the cannon would need time to ready itself, that it would need time for the fires to build so that the whole atmosphere would be set ablaze. But unlike the Gateway, the cannon would not be taking days to charge.

He had very little time left now.

Coming to a stop on the bridge, he heard the doors seal behind him, all those soldiers left blocked off on the other side. Batman, Kaah and the ship operators were alone, obviously Kaah's own doing. Still Batman said nothing, but his glare held firm Kaah's way. It was time for this to begin. Raising one hand, he gestured to Kaah to start his attack. Kaah paused a moment to allow his smirk to temporarily widen, even offering Batman a slight nod of his chunky, vile head.

And then the fight began.

The fight over the entire Earth.

The fight over Diana's life, or her death. Never before had there been a fight that Batman was more determined to win.

Whatever the cost.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_Following the love there seems to have been for the last chapter I feel compelled to thank you all again. Hopefully that love continues on to this one too. Let me know with even more follows/favorites/reviews, my good chums._

_More is on its way soon. This ain't over yet._


	17. Chapter 16: The Fire Rises

**Chapter 16: The Fire Rises**

Flash knew exactly where he was going. As the quickest member of the Justice League, he had very much taken point in getting the civilians of Athens out of the city and away from those blasting space ships trying to wipe them out of existence. Other heroes were helping him of course, but no one had got as many of the innocents clear as Wally had. None of them could hope to either, not with his pace.

A medical station had been set up beyond the apparent range of the weapons of those space ships, especially the guns of the big beast. It was temporary shelter of course. If those ships decided to move their focus point and fly this way then it could well be right in the line of fire, but the plan was for it to be there to just patch up those wounded by the assault who couldn't be carried any further without getting them checked out first. In short, it was used as a pit stop to make sure evacuation wouldn't kill people every bit as much as staying with those guns would.

With his speed, Flash did most of the ferrying there, most of the other non-flying Leaguers unable to cover the distance and then get back to the city quickly enough to help out even more. Some military vehicles offered a hand, trucks, lorries and even a couple of tanks used to carry people when Flash wasn't around. The fast assembled system was working, even if those ships were still firing up above at both the city, them and the Leaguers up there engaging them.

Flash just hadn't planned on one of his friends being one of those he was having to rush desperately out of the battle zone to those medics.

Shayera twitched in his arms as Flash ran as fast as he dared without risking encountering the speed force again. Of course, he had pretty much reached the medical area in the time it took her to make that twitch. If not for the twists and turns caused by starting in the middle of a city, he would have made it in that time easily. Her twitch was very relieving, even if it was short lived. When Diana and GL had handed Shayera's limp form over to him, Flash had feared the very worst. He might know now that she was still breathing, but she also still looked like she was in a fairly bad way, the hole in her wing smouldering.

But she was alive, at least for now. The docs at least had a chance to do their stuff. That was the thought that Wally focused on.

"Hold on, Shayera," Flash muttered at her as he slowed right down. The tents of the medical area were now looming large before him. Doctors and nurses were hustling about several patients. Some looked very badly hurt, others less so. At the same time, the military were moving those already treated away, getting them even further from the battle area and what ought to be closer to safety. "Your good buddy Flash is gonna see to it that they take care of you."

"What happened?" one of the doctors asked Flash in a hurry as he entered one of those tents and carefully laid the still unconscious Shayera on what was about the only empty cot in the place. It was abundantly clear that the medics here were practically overloaded with patients.

"I dunno doc," Flash quickly answered. He recognised the woman who was already checking Shayera's Thanagarian heartbeat through her stethoscope. She was one of the Justice League's personnel who wasn't an actual superhero, powered or otherwise. She was a doctor they had brought in to help them out, especially needed since J'onn had found a life outside of the League. Her name was Susan Conway, Flash believed, though he could have remembered wrong. What he did know for sure was that with her Shayera was in good hands. "All I got told by the guys who dropped her with me was that she was hit by the bad guys, but what those guns of theirs actually do is beyond me. Just do what you can for her. I gotta get back out there."

"We will, you know that," Conway said before getting into the full hustle and bustle of treating her patient, nurses darting in to help out as soon as their hands became free from other patient's treatments. Flash deeply wanted to hang around, to make sure his friend was okay, but as he had said he was needed elsewhere. Ultimately it was only the thought that there were a lot of people still out in the city who needed his help more than Shayera did now that made him move away. Still, he faced his friend laid out, motionless in her cot, until virtually the moment he was out of the tent, backing away without looking where he was going every step of the way.

In doing so, he went straight into the back of someone. Awkwardly he spun as soon as he got his own balance back, immediately offering a hurried form of an apology until he saw who it was he had backed into. Seeing her made him stumble halfway through what was already an unintelligible string of words. It was Inza, Dr. Fate's wife and companion.

"Whatareyoudoinghere?" Flash said in a rush at the sight of her, rather shocked and forgetting all kinds of social etiquette, apology left forgotten. Inza had abilities in her own right, but Flash had never known her to be active in League business as her husband had been from time to time, including one event particularly memorable to Flash. Remembering that time got him immediately nervous about what could be happening now. He didn't want to go through anything like _that _again, especially coupled with the rest of what was going down right now.

"Trying to help," Inza quickly responded, speaking coolly as if she was trying to calm Flash down. He realised that seeing Shayera in her condition, as well as the thumping adrenaline from the battle, probably had left him rather jumpy. However, realising that did nothing to change it. "My husband is attempting to weaken the main attacking vessel up there. It has a magical shield preventing Superman and the others from being able to damage it from the outside. He is trying to remove that shield so that the rest of you can take care of the craft and its weapons. I am here to make sure no one distracts him from that task."

Flash looked up at her words. Only then did he see Dr. Fate hovering in mid-air a short distance away from the medical tent. Flash guessed he had chosen to do it here for the same reason why the medical tent was here; the safe distance from the attackers without being _too _far away. Fate's legs and arms were folded and he looked like his mind was miles away, with sounds of chanting coming from the magician who seemed to be in some form of meditation.

"Can he do it?" Flash found himself asking before he even realised it. If he had, he would definitely have tried to at least have a little less doubt in his tone.

"If anyone can in the time we have..." Inza simply responded. Flash knew she couldn't say any more than that. They just didn't know. Either way, the situation certainly seemed dire, with enemy fire still raining down on Athens, and plenty of civilians still there in need of saving.

"Tell him I said good luck. You know, if you can, when he's..." Flash paused his rather awkward comment, doing a rather comedic imitation of Dr. Fate's meditating pose. Inza gently rested a hand on his arm and smiled at him.

"Don't worry Flash," she commented. "I will. Go and do what you must."

Flash gave a quick smile back, quickly shaking her hand as a form of removing it ready for him to run. As soon as he let her go, he was gone again as rapid as he had been when he had arrived with Shayera. He could do nothing to help Dr. Fate or any of them up in the skies fighting these killer aliens, nor could he help the doctors with Shayera, but he could still help those people stuck in the wrong place at the wrong time.

So that was exactly what he was going to do.

* * *

Green Lantern used his ring to smash another few of those fighters out of the sky as the bunch drew too close to him and J'onn, the battle helping him to forget his gut wrenching worries about Shayera. Seeing her in that state had shook him up badly. It didn't help that he was already blaming himself for what had happened. He had known that Wonder Woman would be the aliens' target, had figured it out back when he saw Batman in that warehouse, and yet he had said nothing. He hadn't dared tell Diana what he knew in those days after Batman had gone. She was shook up enough as it was. And then, when she came back, he had never had the chance to warn her until it was too late. By then everyone could see Diana was the target and no-one would, or even _could_, keep her from the scene of the fighting. By then, by not telling anyone that Diana was the target he had created a scenario where she would need guarding, and that had left the doors open for Shayera to get hurt doing exactly that. If only he had said something before...

But he had to focus on fighting now, had to forget the Thanagarian's peril until the battle was over or he might be joining her in needing urgent care. Or worse. He dare not even think about Vixen helping the civilians below and how she might be doing. If he started worrying about her too then he really would lose focus. So fight on he would.

Despite Batman having returned to their dimension and instantly finding a way onto the otherwise impenetrable ship, and despite Wonder Woman and Superman having managed to follow him in before it sealed up again, Green Lantern and J'onn were still trying to get on board too. J'onn and told Green Lantern of Dr. Fate's arrival and subsequent announcement, that the assaulting ship had a magical shield which prevented any and all meta-abilities from damaging it in the slightest, and that Dr. Fate was now trying to remove that shield. However, with all the hell going on around them, Green Lantern wasn't just going to sit back and hope his friends and allies pulled this off, no matter how much he knew he could trust them. J'onn had concurred on that notion. They had to try and get in there themselves to make sure this threat was defeated. Too many lives were at stake. Shayera's state was extra proof of that.

"Any luck this time?" he called out to the Martian floating in the air just behind him. The two of them were right beside that hulking ship again, up near the top of it and away from the majority of the guns. However, none of those weapons seemed to be firing at them, the fighters ignoring them too. Apparently they weren't seen as enough of a threat to make that ship need to defend itself against them, John's old military days leaving him sure that they were focusing on the city as that was where they could still do the most damage.

"No," J'onn answered with a slight shake of his head, his eyes losing some of their intensity to show he had ended an attempted telepathic connection. "The magic protecting the ship is still preventing me from connecting with any of the minds on board it, even those of our Trinity."

GL smiled at J'onn's use of that word. With those three fighting the good fight, they pretty much had divine intervention on their side, or as close to it as they were likely to get. "Any new ideas then?"

J'onn was delayed in answering as another fighter drew close. The odd one still came their way. Attempting to pick off Leaguers was their only purpose now that Diana was gone, what with their guns being considerably less numerous than that of their larger counterpart. Of course, the Leaguers still out there engaging them were their prime targets, but seeing GL and J'onn up here occasionally baited one or two in.

Seeing it coming, J'onn altered his form, becoming what GL could best describe as a giant flying serpent. As soon as the craft drew near enough J'onn was entangling himself around the fighter, squeezing it to the extent the ship crumbled apart, its shots at him forcibly missing. The pilot was sent flying out as its ship was constricted apart around it, tumbling down towards what awaited below. Green Lantern slowed the pilots fall so that it wouldn't die from the impact, but he still made sure to imagine up a giant mallet to knock the now pilot out as soon as he hit the ground.

"None at the moment," J'onn finally got his answer out. "I think we..."

But Green Lantern never got to hear what J'onn was thinking they should do. They both heard the sound at the same time, the sound that caused them both to look up to the top of the disk-shaped ship. What could only be described as a cannon had emerged from out of the top of it, pointing upwards towards the sky. Jets of flame were starting to burn out of it in fits and bursts, flame so bright it looked utterly deadly.

And those flames were building...

"What the hell is _that_ thing?" Green Lantern asked in sudden, and vast, concern. He had suspicions despite his question, pretty strong ones too. He just wanted to know J'onn's in the hopes that his own were wrong. Alas, J'onn's proved to be exactly the same as his.

"I would suspect that we're in more trouble than we thought. The only point of a vertically upwards flamethrower – as that appears to be – would be to..."

"Yeah, I know," Green Lantern cut J'onn off, not wanting to hear what he knew to be the truth. In his time with the Green Lantern Corps. he had heard talk of all kinds of planet devastating weapons. He had heard one of the other Green Lanterns talk about one which had burnt away a planet's entire atmosphere so that no life could breathe there any longer, causing complete extinction on that planet's surface. Another Lantern spoke of a weapon which just burnt _everything_,setting the entire planet ablaze. John Stewart _may_ have been able to survive such a weapon with his ring to shield him, but he very much doubted if anyone else could without his protection. And he couldn't protect _everyone_, nowhere near, even if he could protect himself.

Whoever these attackers were, they must be _really _pissed off with the world. They had to stop those flames.

GL didn't wait for J'onn to agree with that thought. Watching those flames building, John knew that the weapon was being charged up, ready to – literally – fire. Quickly he thought back years to his old high school science classes. The best way to stop a fire; cut off its energy source, oxygen. Concentrating his will, Green Lantern fired his power ring to form a giant bell jar, trying to place it over that cannon to form a vacuum around it and kill the flames before the cannon was at full strength.

Unfortunately, he was so desperate to stop the cannon he forgot about the ships magical protection. As soon as the ring-formed bell jar tried to seal off the air by touching down with the ship it vanished under that protective spell. Repeated efforts made no difference, no matter how much Green Lantern tried to will them to.

His mind desperately raced for a plan B. As it did so his eyes fell upon the waters by Athens down below them. The seas were remarkably calm despite the hell that was erupting on the ground and in the air so close by, but the waters were about to get disturbed. Quickly Green Lantern formed the jar again, scooping up gallons upon gallons of that water., as much as he could quickly carry As fast as he could he hauled the gathered waters up above those flames. He did not hesitate before pouring it out to try and extinguish them.

As a cloud of steam shrouded the cannon from view, Green Lantern thought for the briefest of glorious moments that he had done it. Then the smoke cleared, the light of the growing flames shining brightly through it. John's heart sank. Once again he was fast running out of ideas. Good ones anyway.

"I hope that that thing's magic paint job doesn't stop our comms from working," he muttered to J'onn still flying beside him, clearly having prevented any more of those fighters from getting too close during Green Lanterns efforts against that cannon. "I'm getting the feeling that our boys and girl already on that thing are our _only _way to stop it in time."

* * *

Superman flew fast in the direction of the power core he could see radiating in the heart of the colossus. He was glad his powers were unaffected by being in this ship, not like they had been when used against its exterior. It meant that he didn't have to take the slower route of going around the many meandering corridors of this ship, fighting his way through its crews and soldiers. He could just smash his way through the bulkheads instead.

"Superman, it's John," the Green Lantern's voice came through the comm unit in Superman's ear. If not for his super hearing he might not have heard it, coming as it did just as Superman smashed through another chunk of solid metal without even batting an eye. "There's been a development, and not a good one. Those guns that have been firing on us and the city; they don't look to have been enough for these people. They've decided to try and set the entire world on fire instead, and we can't stop it from out here."

"How are they doing it?" Superman asked in a hurry, coming to a stop so that GL could hear _him_, having to blast some soldiers away with his heat vision because of that. "Will destroying this ship's power supply stop it?"

There was a slight pause as John clearly considered the answer. "It should. There's a cannon on top of that thing that's building up flames, preparing to fire. Without power, firing it should be decidedly tricky."

"I'm on it," Superman simply gave his answer, ending the conversation and resuming his charge to the power core now that he knew he didn't have somewhere more urgent to be. Not doing, the path through the bulkheads continued to be smashed into existence. The odd soldier occasionally got in the way, only to be punched straight out of it. With the strength and speed of Superman, he soon found himself arriving in the vast area where he had seen the power source with his x-ray vision.

Like a lot of this ship's innards, the room was dark. Unlike the other areas Superman had seen, it was also about five stories tall, banks of machinery lining the roughly square walls. Most different, though, was the vast column right slap bang in the centre. It stretched from floor to high ceiling, and Superman didn't need to use his enhanced vision to be sure that this was what he had come here for. Its eerie blue, pulsating glow just screamed of an energy source, and so it was that which Superman had to destroy.

Soldiers from all around the room started to draw weapons his way immediately after he had exploded into the room through the floor. There was lots of them, but none of their weapons even scratched him, the energy based attacks simply bouncing off of his chest. With that the case, it was a simply matter of flying around at great speed, using what strength was necessary to knock them out one by one. It didn't take him long either. No wonder whoever was leading this attack had magically protected the ship's exterior so vigorously. These interior defences were no match for him.

Superman landed down at the foot of that power core with no more distractions. He quickly studied it, seeing the alien control panel before him. He knew if Batman were here then deactivating this core would be a simple matter of hitting the right few buttons. For Superman, doing that would be no simple task. He had no idea what buttons to press, and he very much had the impression that Batman wouldn't respond if he called him on the comm. And none of the rest of his allies were in a position to help him out either.

So he would do this his way. It didn't take much of his strength to tear that control panel from the floor, tossing it to one side in a sparking mess just in case that alone would work, in case that would somehow shut the power down now the means of controlling it was lost. It didn't.

But if destroying the control device didn't work, then destroying the core itself definitely should. Superman took a quick step or two back to get more of that pulsating blue column into his line of sight. As he did so, he got his heat vision warming up.

And that was when he felt the blow strike him in the small of his back.

It was strong enough to make him double over, coming just as he unleashed his heat vision so that now he burnt a pair of holes in the floor instead of into the power core. However, the blow wasn't strong enough to keep Superman hunched over for long. He spun to see the clearly alien man looking at him, grinning, arms held as if ready for a boxing bout.

"I have awaited this moment Superman," the alien snarled smugly at him. "To prove my strength against a Kryptonian under a yellow sun."

"Do I know you?" Superman responded. It certainly wasn't a face he could remember straight away, as an individual or a species, and he hadn't the time to wrack his brains any deeper. "Why are you people attacking this world?"

"_I'm _here _for _the fight," the alien replied. "Everyone else is simply here to destroy this planet and its people. My name is Jamalok. Think of that name for these last moments of your life, Kryptonian."

Superman had more questions, even if time was short. He wanted this Jamalok to explain to him what was going on, why all this was happening and how he could stop it peacefully. Jamalok didn't even give him the chance to ask those questions, making it clear that with these people peace was not an option.

Jamalok attacked. The alien launched himself forward at Superman, striking him across the face with enough force to make Superman's head fling to the side. Another similar blow flung his head the other way. Then a blow or three or six hit him hard in the gut, pushing him back. Then an upper cut to his face sent his head snapping backwards, all before Superman had reacted.

This guy was tough. He was stronger than any of the other soldiers around here, definitely stronger than a human. But Superman had also definitely fought tougher. This guy was no Darkseid, no Mongul. He was no _Wonder Woman_. For different reasons, he wasn't as tough as Batman either. He didn't even seem to have any Kryptonite on his side to help him out. Superman knew he could take this Jamalok. The only question was whether he could do so in time, especially without doing the unthinkable and killing him.

Jamalok's fist swung at Superman again, but this time his was ready. Superman caught the fist, crushing it with his own might. Jamalok howled in pain, but he was not _that _easy to stop. The alien swung his other arm like a club, catching Superman in the neck with enough impact that his grip on Jamalok's hand weakened enough for the alien to pull it clear. He then tried to send his club hand right into Superman's throat, but with lightening speed Superman leapt up into the air, landing on Jamalok's other side.

Jamalok had only began to spin when Superman grabbed the man by the back of the head, hoisting him up and slamming him head first into the deck, so hard that it dented around him. Jamalok groaned in pain, but was still not done. With his feet, he kicked out, striking Superman's shin. Superman didn't lose balance, but the blow knocked one foot back, effectively causing him to do the splits just as he was raising Jamalok's head up for another blow. That left him easily open for Jamalok to send a punch straight for Superman's..._unmentionables_.

Thankfully he was able to swing a hand down to deflect Jamalok's blow, but in doing so he released his hold over Jamalok. With movements suggesting the alien might not have the solid bone structure his posture had implied, Jamalok leapt back up to his feet, again sending a swing at Superman.

The fight hadn't gone on for long, but Superman was realising fast that it couldn't go on much longer. Yes, this Jamalok seemed a good fighter, good enough to distract him for a long time, it seemed. _If _Superman kept this to a fist fight. _If _he ignored his vast array of other abilities. _If _he allowed Jamalok to dictate things.

Hoping to end this quickly, _needing _to end this quickly, Superman took flight, raising above Jamalok's reach as the alien's swing went harmlessly beneath his feet.

"Afraid to fight me, coward?" Jamalok roared up at him from below after staggering to maintain balance following the shock of his target suddenly being gone. His eyes had quickly followed Superman up into the air, full of rage.

"Not in the slightest," Superman answered, knowing that Jamalok was attempting to distract him if not to beat him. Time was clearly the alien's best weapon in this fight, especially if Superman stayed true and didn't try to prove a point by engaging Jamalok his way. "I just have more important things to do."

And with that he was delayed no longer. Turning his head, he blasted the power core full strength with his heat vision.

The core instantly stopped pulsing, the blue light dying too as smoke burned from where Superman had struck it. He had clearly done it. The main power of the ship was gone.

It was then that he realised that might have been a mistake. If the power was out, then how would this thing stay in the air, and not crash killing all aboard, and so many below too? And he couldn't escape it, not with that magic protecting its outer hull... And neither could Diana or Bruce... Superman knew he would have to catch the ship fast, to hold it up and stop that all from happening.

Or did he? He suddenly realised that the lights in the rest of the room were all still active, joined, in fact, by what appeared to be flashing red alert signals. He suddenly noticed what seemed to be a vast array of generators around the machinery at the rooms edges. He suddenly realised that the ship _wasn't _falling. He suddenly realised that the smoke was starting to build from where he had just shot that central column.

And he suddenly realised that Jamalok was unleashing a deep, rumbling, endless laugh. A _victorious _laugh.

"What's so funny?" Superman quickly demanded of the alien, turning back to face him. If that thing wasn't the power core, then what was it? His heart was beating fast. What had he done? "You've lost, Jamalok. Surrender, and tell me what's happening."

"It's too late for that, _Super_man!" Jamalok just about got out through his fits of laughter. "You've just seen to that!"

_That _got Superman worried. Utilising his speed, he swooped down, grasping hold of Jamalok by the scruff of his collar and then flying the alien into the air before he could do anything about it, even higher than before. He had no intention of dropping the man, nor of threatening him as Batman might. He just had to do it so that he could keep a hold of Jamalok without the man striking him to break free. He needed answers, not to give Jamalok another chance at a fight.

"Why? What's happening? What was that column if it wasn't the power core? Has this ship's main cannon fired?"

"Oh, no," Jamalok smiled, shaking his head. His laughter had stopped at being flown up here, perhaps because a five storey fall might actually be too much for him, but his amusement with the situation clearly still remained. "You have stopped the _cannon_ firing as such. But what you have done instead will see to it that the same result happens regarding your pitiful planet. That wasn't the power core. It was the top cannon's _fuel source_. And you've just ignited it. Lit the touch paper. And that stuff's so volatile there's no way to stop the boom once that's happened, only ways to speed it up. In a few minutes, once the heat from your laser eyes has spread throughout the entire column, all the fuel that was safely protected in that casing will blow, with enough force that all that'll be left of this ship, all of us, and that planet down below will be scarred chunks of rock, adrift in empty space. Well done Superman. I didn't need to beat you. You've killed yourself and everyone else on this world for me. I _have _beaten you."

Superman's face twisted in horror. What had he done? And Jamalok said there was no way to stop it...

No. No, he suddenly thought. There might be _one _way. This ship was most definitely the threat that Batman had fought the rest of the Justice League to go and face alone, and now Batman had chased it back here. And Batman had headed elsewhere in this ship. No doubt, Superman realised, Bruce had his own way of stopping these aliens from destroying the world. Hopefully, it would _still _stop them.

"You're wrong," Superman softly yet firmly said to Jamalok, yet having to hope that _his _words weren't the incorrect ones. Jamalok just continued to smile at Superman, now clearly through a sense of triumph. Superman soon wiped that smile off his face by drawing back his fist and using enough strength to finally knock out the alien before flying back down and settling the unconscious villain against the deck.

Superman wasn't sure what else he could do. All he knew was that he had to find Bruce fast. Diana too, since she'd gone after him already.

"Superman to Batman," he said into his comm. All he got back was static.

Of course that was all he got. Batman had gone off comm when he stopped the League from tracking him before; he clearly hadn't gone back _on _since, even now, save for his message to try and keep them out of that warehouse. So Superman tried a different tactic.

"Superman to Wonder Woman." Once again, there was no reply. This time he was really worried. Diana would have answered him. If she could...

There was nothing else for it. He would have to find them the old fashioned way. Still, Superman gulped as he looked across to that central column, to the increasing amount of smoke and how it was already starting to slowly develop a warm red glow. He would not have long. None of them did now.

Boy, how he hoped Bruce would have a plan this time.

* * *

Green Lantern had the barricade up and ready for one of those fighters to crash straight into it and destroy itself when the damn thing swung away at the last second. John was about to send a blast after it until he realised where the fighter was going. In fact, at that second he noticed where _all _of those fighters were going. They had all swung off from their attacks, suddenly all flying the same way, and fast.

They were all fleeing back through that portal from whence they had came.

They were _fleeing_.

At first Green Lantern was worried, worried that they might be fleeing because that fire cannon was about to go off and they couldn't withstand it. He quickly looked over to where those flames had been building. The smile spread over his face when he saw the flames had all gone. Green Lantern was sure that Superman had done it, that the weapon was gone and that those fighters had fled because they were actually beaten.

Then he heard the comm call as J'onn didn't share in his optimism.

"J'onn to Superman, the fighters are all returning to their own dimension and the fire cannon appears to have ceased building up its flames. What's the situation?"

"Not good," Green Lantern heard Superman's voice coming back through his own active comm. "That cannon's not firing, but there's something worse. This ships about to blow and it'll take the world with it if it does. I'm on my way to try and stop it_._"

"There's nothing we can do to help, is there?" Green Lantern added to the conversation, his optimism suddenly turned all pragmatic.

"Not that I can see," Superman's answer was equally grim.

"In that case, good luck," J'onn simply finished, the call cutting out. They both knew it was best to leave Superman to it. It seemed that there was nothing they could do now but hope, especially as the last of those fighters disappeared through that still very active dimensional portal. Around them, the flying members of the Justice League seemed to be lost following the sudden change of events, not knowing where to be or what they ought to be doing.

Green Lantern looked across to J'onn. The Martian looked back at him very knowingly.

"Go to her. I'll guide the League so we're still ready in case Superman needs us, especially if Dr. Fate succeeds in removing the ships protection in time. Be prepared if I call."

Green Lantern nodded in response. For him, for now, the fight was done. And that meant that Shayera was firmly back on his mind. Leaving J'onn to look after everyone else, he quickly flew off to be by her side at the medical area.

It was only as he flew, in the midst of his hopes that they might live through this, that he realised that he had thought of Shayera before he had worried how Vixen might be doing after the battle. Perhaps, if they made it, he would have to revise his position.

_If_ they lived through this.

* * *

J'onn looked across to the other heroes still in the air around him, ready to take charge. He knew what they all had to do, knew that they had to remain ready for if and when Dr. Fate gave them the means to get aboard that ship, and that until then they should be helping Flash and the others in aiding the wounded in the city below.

Yet he still took a moment to steady his own usually stoic mind. Ever since he had spent time getting to know this world, ever since he had found love again and married his wife, the potential consequences of what the Justice League regularly faced weighed heavier upon him. Right now, with the end of the world possibly around the corner, J'onn was having to fight the urge to race back to his wife's side, knowing that he could still be needed here. But he still couldn't help thinking that he should have had more of a goodbye with her when he had received the call that Batman's threat had arrived.

As J'onn flew away to finally organise the League from on site, he gained an even better comprehension of what Diana had been going through the past few days, and what Batman could well have been going through too.

Having heard Superman's tone, J'onn also had the strong impression that, right now, everything could well be resting on those two's shoulders. The whole world dependent on just two.

At least it was _those _two.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_I know a lot of you were probably expecting the big showdown against the big bad somewhere up there. But don't worry. It's coming up next. Should be here soon. Keep an eye out._

_Find here the usual statement of gratitude for all past and future reviews/favourites/follows. More are always welcome of all. Even if they come from ginger people. Or damn hippies. Heck, even if they come from ginger hippies. I'll have them from anyone.  
_


	18. Chapter 17: Mortal Combat

**Chapter 17: Mortal Combat**

Batman dived beneath Kaah's mighty swinging fist, rolling back to his feet behind the despot. In a fluid motion, he had the electrified knuckle duster in place on his right hand, the other hand kept free for better access to the other weaponry on his utility belt. Quicker than the large, powerful alien, Batman managed to slam a punch against the alien's back before Kaah could turn to face him again.

Batman could feel how tough Kaah's flesh was, even through the knuckle duster, but he could also see Kaah's body tense in a quick flash of pain. Kaah, it seemed, was going to be easily stronger than a man, but he wasn't as tough as Mongul, the alien he so resembled. It wouldn't be easy, but Batman knew for sure now, just from that, that he could definitely beat this guy. Of course, that wasn't his only objective here, but Kaah would hardly stand by and give him the time to take this ship's weapons out of action for good. The alien would have to be beaten first.

One punch to the back was nowhere near enough to do that, though. Kaah swung a fist Batman's way while still on the turn and, having drawn too close for his own the punch, Batman couldn't get completely out of the way this time. He felt the fist impact against the side of his face, instantly tasting blood as he was knocked to the floor.

But he was somewhat encouraged. The blow hadn't done _that _much damage. His skull was still intact.

He rolled away just as the full, vast weight of Ovada Kaah came crashing down right where he had been splayed out, the villain having attempted to leap on him and crush him under his mass as soon as Batman had hit the deck. Batman rolled further, scrambling back up to his feet and just out of range of a mad kick from Kaah's foot.

Kaah was fighting wildly, just swinging his limbs instead of using refinement, control. He appeared to have no tactics other than to smash Batman to pieces as quickly as possible. He seemed to be rather the opposite compared to Batman's own fighting style brought about through years of training. There was seemingly not the forward planning or thought like Batman so vitally utilised every time he fought. Of course, Kaah had enough raw power, and the ability to remove _others_' powers if they had them, that that normally wouldn't be much of a problem.

But normally he wasn't up against the Batman.

"Once again you prove you are different to the other members of your League, Batman," Kaah commented as a temporary break in the fighting ensued, both men facing each other. Kaah was panting slightly, clearly unused to physical exertion these days, but he had that wicked smile back. "I fought with the Kryptonian back in my own dimension, as well as the winged woman and one who it appears isn't even with you in this dimension. All of them just charged in head first, lacking your cowardly attempts to suspend my victory."

Batman did not rise to Kaah's bait. He knew it wasn't cowardice, just as he knew the others only fought the way they did because unlike him they so often didn't have to bother dodging attacks. He also knew that, with Kaah standing still like this in an attempt to taunt him, to get him off guard, he had a prime opportunity to further test the villain's capacities.

Not saying a word in response, Batman drew the penultimate sonic shock batarang from his utility belt, flinging it at Kaah before the alien had a chance to see it in Batman's hand. Kaah threw up a hand to intercept it, catching the device. When the shock detonated, it was clear that Kaah was being affected by it. However, it was also clear that it wasn't enough to topple him. Kaah ground his teeth and growled through the shock, crushing the batarang in his hand to put an end to it. That action, Batman noticed, brought small drops of blood out of Kaah's clenched fist, small dark flecks dripping to the deck at his feet.

So a batarang was sharp enough to cut Kaah's skin when force was applied. Every second of this fight Batman was learning about Kaah, learning how to beat him, and learning fast. He just had to make sure he was fast enough...

"I try to talk to you like we're civilised men, I try to make your death as quick for you as possible, and yet you resist in such an uncouth way," Kaah snarled at Batman as he dropped the crushed remnants of the batarang down to the deck, flicking it away with his foot so that it fell into one of those seven control pits around the octagonal room.

Batman watched it go, looking into that pit as he did so. He looked for the screens, looking for the progress of that devastating cannon, looking to see how close it was to firing. But he couldn't actually see the screens. Several of Kaah's bridge operators were standing in the way in each of those pits, all looking urgent and acting hurriedly. Something was going on. So long as it wasn't the cannon firing, Batman knew that he could handle it, whatever it was. What's more, with Kaah still so focused on him and not the Earth, Batman felt sure that right now the cannon was _not_ ready for firing. That meant that whatever it was that had got the bridge crew worked up, it could wait.

"Give up now. You must know that you cannot beat me, or you would be standing and fighting instead of looking for a way out. You must know that you have lost, that you and she are both dead already. Accept it, and I will make it easy for both of you."

Kaah's smile was gone as he finished what he was saying, bringing Batman's full attention back on him. Batman clearly noted Kaah failing to say that the Earth was already lost. He also noted just clearly how Kaah seemed to have resulted to mind games. That was a mistake. Batman's mind was the best weapon he had.

"No deal," Batman very simply responded. Now was not the moment for intimidation tactics, for talking Kaah into a mistake. There simply wasn't time for it.

So he hurled another batarang, a standard one this time. Kaah wasn't to know that though, keeping his eyes on it as he batted it away, clearly not looking forward to having to endure a shock like the last one had given him. The weapon was easily deflected away, causing no damage whatsoever, but that hadn't been the point of it. It had merely been a distraction, and in that regard it had worked. It meant that Batman was on top of Kaah without the villain having even seen him move.

He swung the knuckle duster hard across Kaah's face, but didn't stop to study the damage, ducking low to send another blow into Kaah's ribs. Before Kaah could detect him, Batman moved on again, and again, and again. He kept moving, kept changing where he struck Kaah, but he kept striking him. With every blow he listened to Kaah's grunt of pain, listened for which strike seemed to hurt Kaah the most.

But he knew that he wouldn't be able to keep out guessing Kaah forever. Every time he moved the villain took another swing of his powerful fist at him, but quite often swung at the space Batman had just vacated. Eventually, one of those blows struck. Part of the downside of not having super speed.

The blow hit him across the ribs just as Batman was swinging back around for another attack on Kaah's face. Instantly he felt a few of the ribs crack, letting out his own grunt of pain. Worse, in Kaah finally catching him the door was opened for more such blows, the pain of the first slowing Batman down from dodging the villains next strike, or the one after that.

They struck him hard, another across the face causing even more blood and perhaps a broken cheek bone, then one against his shoulder which thankfully didn't dislocate under the impact, before finally a swung kick came down hard against the back of his knee. Batman collapsed down onto it to prevent the ligaments from snapping in twain, but he didn't back down. That kick from Kaah, while extremely painful, had been a mistake. Batman could take the pain. He had done for years. He had also dished plenty out.

Biting through his own hurt, Batman quickly flattened himself to the deck as Kaah took another swing for his head, one which could well have snapped his neck if it had struck home. He felt the air rush past as he only just ducked down in time. As soon as he had, though, he was shoving himself back up.

Because of that last swing, Kaah had stumbled forward, his back momentarily facing Batman. Batman took the chance, throwing himself up into the air. Despite Kaah moving to come back at him, he landed perfectly atop the villains' shoulders. Kaah instantly grasped for him, trying to throw him off, but Batman slung his head out of the way so that Kaah's first attempted grasp missed.

He now had his plan. He had learned enough about Kaah from those first bouts. The man was too tough to be brought down in a standard fist fight, not quickly any way. But he could be made to bleed. It may take effort, but Ovada Kaah could be cut open, and where there was a cut there was the means to access the bloodstream of even the hardest skinned individual. Kaah was too strong for Batman to beat down, but Batman could weaken him.

Kaah grasped at him again, only this time he didn't reach behind himself to grasp at Batman's head. Instead he simply grabbed hold of the arm Batman had clutched around his neck to hold on to the villain. He squeezed hard, making Batman feel the bruises before they were even formed, but thankfully the bones seemed to stay intact despite feeling on the verge of cracking. Before Kaah could sling him off, Batman did what he had leapt up there to do. Using a standard batarang, he slammed it deep into Kaah's right shoulder, shoving down on it with all his might. He might not have Kaah's strength, but thanks to the razor sharpness of the batarang he had enough. Just before Kaah flung Batman over his shoulder and through the air he saw the blood oozing from the villain's shoulder. He made sure to hold on tight to the batarang as Kaah threw him, yanking it free at the last second to ensure the cut was even deeper, longer, wider.

That didn't prevent more pain from coming Batman's way. He crashed into one of those screens that he had been trying to observe earlier. His back screamed at him as the sparks showered around him, his damaged arm then screaming too as he fell the rest of the way to the deck, down in one of those seven control pits around the bridge.

It was more gingerly than before, but Batman still shoved himself back up to his feet as quickly as he could after again being knocked down. It was then that he could see that all of the crew members were not staying in there with him.

A set of steps lead back up to Kaah's central platform and out of the control pit. Sets of alien feet were pounding up them, and Batman gave chase. However, when he reached the top of those steps, he saw that all the other control pits had emptied too. All the bridge commanders were running. The bridge doors had opened up, and they were all fleeing past that guard of Kaah's soldiers in the corridor beyond in total fright. Batman instantly wondered why. Obviously, Kaah did too.

The last controller running beyond him did not make it. Snatching out a hand Kaah caught the technician, gripping him close and obviously forgetting about Batman for a second. Batman himself stood back to watch, not having any shadows to dissolve into. He knew he would likely have to hear what the controller had to say every bit as much as Kaah did.

"Explain!" the leader of this assault roared down into the face of his subordinate, showing off the kind of scare tactics that had made all of his people so afraid that they would follow his every whim, even into potential death.

"The weapon fuel, it's been hit! It's leaking! Everything's going to blow! We have to use the escape pods and flee back through the Gateway! We have to get clear!" the subordinate howled, just about holding back the stammer caused by his so obvious abundance of fear. Batman instantly knew what the subordinate meant. He had learned about how the cannon of this ship worked when he was studying how best to destroy it, so he knew that he now had an entirely different kind of problem on his hands.

He also knew how to stop it. What's more, he also knew that this didn't exactly change anything. Batman still had to stop Kaah and then use this ship's controls, for he was sure that Kaah was _not _about to flee. Killing Diana meant too much to him to run when he was so close. Sure enough, Kaah proved him right.

"Not until the bitch is dead!" he screamed, showing off a different kind of rage to the almost maniacal, calm voice he had used when addressing Batman. He showed that rage further. Batman could also see that this was coming, but he had no chance to stop it. With his superior strength, Kaah wrenched his subordinate's neck, killing him instantly. The corpse he callously hurled clean across the room and into one of the now empty control pits. Perhaps following that display, none of those guards in the corridor followed the controllers example in fleeing. They all held their ground, just as Kaah so clearly demanded.

"It seems some of your people have found the means to destroy my ship." Kaah went back to his usual tone as he addressed Batman again following a quick sigh. Batman hardly listened. He was readying himself for the next phase of his plan to bring Kaah down. Though seemingly just staring Kaah down, Batman's hand was already removing the injector from his utility belt, loading it with sedatives as Kaah finished. "Your fellows here obviously do not share your intellect. They have doomed you all in this dimension _for_ me, whereas I shall find a new ship once I leave this place. I just have to kill you first. And _her _of course. I must _always _kill _her_."

"This is your last chance, Kaah," Batman returned with a snarl. He really was offering Kaah one last chance, but he knew that the alien would never take it. He wasn't a killer, so he had to offer the chance, no matter how much he felt like making an exception to his rule for this alien fiend after what he was trying to do to Diana. "Run. I can't save you if you don't."

Kaah actually laughed at him again, but this time it was clear that he was the one with no more words to say. He began stepping forwards towards Batman, obviously thinking Batman was significantly weakened by the last bout of their fight. Batman was wounded, yes, but not enough for Kaah to have won. Batman knew overconfidence would be the alien's undoing. He had known it all along.

He charged as Kaah advanced slower. The injector was firmly in his hand now. He had not known if it would have worked through Kaah's hardened skin, but he didn't have to. Batman planned on injecting it right into that deep cut he had made in Kaah's shoulder instead, the cut that was still dripping blood. With Kaah advancing, it would be a simple case of dodging one attack and then coming up behind the alien despot again.

Or it should have been. Batman was ready, ready for the actions, ready for the timings, until he saw her.

Wonder Woman was here.

She emerged along the corridor that lead to the bridge, instantly engaging those soldiers she encountered there who, no doubt in fear of what their leader would do to them if they stole his kill, only fought back against her defensively. Even if they had gone after her in full force they wouldn't have taken her. But with his strength, his power draining ability and the element of surprise regarding it, Kaah could.

This had been the situation that Batman had tried so hard to avoid. Going after Westwood and Kincaid alone, fighting his own allies so that he could progress to the other dimension alone, not stopping to acquire help from anyone when he had returned to this dimension. It had all been to keep Diana from Kaah. It protected the others too, but it was definitely her Batman had been trying to protect. And now, despite all his efforts, she was here anyway. She must have somehow followed him inside the ship, those hangar doors that he had opened not closing as quickly as Batman had expected.

In that instant Batman figured that someone else from the Justice League must have made it aboard too, that it was they who had set this ship on course to an explosion that would take the entire world with it, surely in a mistaken attempt to save everyone on Earth. But he also did not care. He was just suddenly overburdened with fear for Diana. He could not let her die.

He was so fearful that he missed his chance to dodge under the arm Kaah slung his way. All his momentum was suddenly gone as Kaah caught him by the throat with tightening fingers, the impact not only slamming the air out of a now bruised throat but also shaking the injector from his hand and sending it tumbling uselessly to the floor. Batman instantly felt the air being choked out of him even more as Kaah squeezed, hoisting him clean up off the ground.

His vision was already starting to draw in as the air was increasingly cut off from his lungs, his attempts to prise himself free of Kaah's grasp totally futile. What blurred vision he still had was used totally on looking to Diana, as he felt sure that suddenly this would be the end for both of them. And everyone else too.

All his usual confidence had drained in a second. That was what fear did to him, fear over her. This was part of the reason why he had tried to resist letting her in for so very long. But it seemed too late for all that now. It seemed like this was the end.

And she had to be the last thing he saw if it was.

* * *

These soldiers were no harder to bring down for her than those earlier ones had been, especially as they seemed less inclined to actually fight her. Still, Wonder Woman spared them no quarter, especially as she saw what lay beyond them. There Bruce was, engaging a far larger alien who was clearly the leader of this pack, the man responsible for all of this carnage. She only just had the last soldier in her way felled, preparing to leap to Batman's side so they could end this together, when she saw it.

She was instantly filled with horror, with dread. In that moment she felt no anger towards Bruce any more for _insisting _on trying to do this alone. There was too much fear in her at the sight of the alien so easily picking him off the ground by the throat for that, too much fear at the sight of those fingers beginning to squeeze.

Thankfully there wasn't enough fear to nullify her incredible warrior instincts. The tiara was off her head before the alien raised Bruce up to the top of his reach. Before the fiend could finish Bruce off, she flung the tiara with all of her might.

The alien howled in pain as the razor sharp edge hacked along the flesh of the arm he had held Batman by. It cut him so deep that he couldn't hold onto Bruce any longer, dropping him to a heap on the ground. Bruce hit the ground hard, barely moving where he had dropped, but he was clearly still alive.

Diana's aim had been true, so true that the loop of her throw sent the tiara right back to her awaiting hand before the alien could even look up at her again. She was about to throw again, to distract the alien from Bruce even more and stop him from trying to finish him off regardless of her presence, when she noticed that she suddenly had the alien's full attention. Batman, the foe the alien had clearly been fighting so vigorously up until now, was simply left forgotten at his feet, despite clearly not being done yet. In fact, the alien began to walk away from Batman, advancing on Diana, joyful menace in his eyes.

"So you arrive," the alien spoke at her, a truly evil look on his face despite his voice being far calmer, yet still very definitely unsettling. He seemed oddly pleased by her presence. Wonder Woman instantly felt she was looking at the reason why so many of those external guns had targeted her before she had followed Bruce inside this ship. "I have been waiting for you, my dear. Waiting for you with much impatience. I'm so glad you came to me before it was too late. I'm so glad that this Batman is not alone in this, at your combined end."

"Surrender," Wonder Woman simply said at the alien, ignoring what he had just said. She wasn't in much mood for talk, especially with a man who seemed so ready to kill Bruce just a few moments ago. In the background, Bruce was still trying to get to his feet, still spluttering to catch his breath again. He seemed to be trying to shout something, but all that was doing was slowing the air down from getting back into his lungs and causing the sounds he made to be completely incomprehensible. "I won't warn you twice. Whatever is going on is over. You're beaten. The Justice League has defeated you."

"I don't care what you say," the alien returned, still sounding so creepily calm. "Now I have you. And I know that you cannot hurt me. Your words are meaningless, useless. They merely delay my _wondrous _justice."

"Think again," Diana snarled. She had had more than enough of this man already. Deciding not to hold back in the slightest in the face of the cause of so much suffering, she slung a punch towards the alien's chest with all of her might...

Only for her fist to simply bounce off. The alien showed little if any signs of pain, only the slight grunt like a regular human might make if a tennis ball was thrown against their chest. More, Diana felt a sudden, sharp pain in her fingers. Either this man was as tough as the toughest the League had ever encountered, or...

"That's right, Wonder Woman," the alien spoke again as she felt the fear rising up throughout herself once more at the dawn of comprehension. "Against me, you are quite literally _powerless_. I, however, am not."

Diana watched as the alien reached across to the forearm she hadn't sliced open with the tiara. From a sheath hidden amongst his clothing he drew the blade. The shine of the silvery metal made her eyes widen deeply, especially at the wickedly sinister look that now filled the alien's face.

Diana was convinced that the look was too early. Her powers may have failed in the presence this man, just as they had against that gun barrel outside, but she still knew how to fight. She had all of her many years of Amazon training to draw upon, as well as all that she had learned from her times sparring with Batman. Bruce, however, had finally found enough breath for words. He screamed them, the fear so alien and yet so blatant in his voice.

"Diana, _run_!"

She didn't run. She was a fighter. With or without her powers, she would fight. Besides, she couldn't abandon him now. She had to save him, even more so than she would have needed to a week ago. After all that she had realised since Central City, she couldn't leave him now. She would take whatever this guy threw at her, just as Bruce had been doing before she got here.

The glint in the alien's eyes sharpened as Diana held her ground despite Bruce's shout. When the alien spoke, his voice definitely had finality to it.

"Justice is served, _Wonder Woman_."

And then he stabbed at her. Diana threw up her bracelets to block it. She thought she had put enough strength behind her wrists to fend the knife away. She thought she had successfully compensated for the fact that her enhanced strength seemed to have left her.

She was wrong. The bracelets deflected the knife away from her heart, but could do nothing to stop the alien plunging it straight into her shoulder. The pain was instant, strong, telling her that her enhanced durability was gone too. The alien started laughing like a madman, stepping back to admire his handiwork for a moment as Diana staggered under the wound, the knife still stuck in her hilt deep. She had never felt pain like this, even if this first blow did appear to just be a bad flesh wound thanks to the deflection of her bracelets. With her powers and her skill, there had never been the chance to be wounded like this before now.

And she could see that more was coming. Still laughing, the alien reached to his other forearm and drew another knife, obviously intent on finishing her off, on not allowing her to fend off his attack again. She knew her current strength better this time though, even through the pain of being stabbed. She was determined to hold her ground, to fight off this fiend.

However, Wonder Woman never got the chance to. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, her entire field of vision suddenly became obscured by grey, billowing smoke. The next second she felt a different kind of impact to that of a knife. As the shock suddenly resounded through her, she knew that this was Bruce's doing. She knew that he was doing this to protect her, but that angered her more. She didn't want him to. Nothing had changed in these last seconds. She wanted to stand, to fight, and she wanted him to trust her to do exactly that. Even without her powers she was an Amazon warrior. Even with a knife stuck in her chest, she wasn't about to abandon him to protect herself.

But, as the shock made her black out with ease far beyond what should have been, she knew that once again Bruce had made sure he was to end this alone. And this time he had foolishly done it for what he would view as saving her. Before she lost consciousness, the thought struck her that that might have been the case all along.

Damn that man. Why hadn't he just _told_ her?

* * *

He had tried to warn her as soon as Kaah had advanced on her, but he just hadn't had the breath to do so. When she held her ground despite his shout, Batman knew that he had to act. But he had been too damn slow, all because he was so damn worried for her that his reactions weren't what they should be.

And that had meant that Kaah had stabbed her. It didn't seem to be a killing blow, but it was enough to almost tear Batman apart from the inside. Only seeing her still standing there, seeing her _still _in peril had managed to keep his reflexes from halting totally, from sending him right back in time to that night in Crime Alley. As Kaah had drawn that second knife, Batman had known that this time he had to act fast.

It wasn't because he had no faith in Diana. He knew full well just how brilliantly she could fight, even without her powers. Years of training with both the Amazons and Batman himself meant that, unlike someone like Superman, Diana would still be able to fight on well even without her powers. After that first blow, she would also have a better understanding of how strong she actually was right now, and as such would be more able to fend Kaah off the next time. She may have even been able to keep Kaah at bay for long enough for Batman to save the Earth from the imminent boom and for them to then both escape alive. If not for all he had learned in the past days, Batman would have had no doubts that Diana would not fall.

But he _had_ learned those things, had learned of how Kaah had killed so many versions of Wonder Woman before. He could not risk it happening again, no matter how much he trusted her skills.

And so he had hurled the smoke pellet and his last sonic shock batarang, virtually simultaneously. The gas was the shroud, the means to prevent Kaah from seeing where to stab as Diana fell under the batarang's shock. It was the only good side of her being in this weakened state. Her failure to compensate sufficiently had been what allowed Kaah to drive that knife into her, her lack of super-strength being what had stopped her from simply besting him with ease, but at least Batman could protect her because of it too. If Diana would not run, he would take the decision away from her. With her unconscious, he could _carry her_ away from Kaah.

With the grapple lost back in those monorail tunnels, Batman had no means to drag her out of there. Instead, he focused on ensuring that Kaah never got the chance to find her through all of the smoke from the pellet, now only just starting to clear. The despot had screamed as the smoke stopped him from making his kill. Now he was slashing madly into the fog with his drawn knife, desperate for one of the blows to strike her and obviously unaware that Batman had seen to it that she was unconscious on the floor and out of his reach.

But it was the floor that Batman most noticed, and the injector lay there between him and Kaah, the injector that held the key to beating the alien that so wanted Diana dead. Anger had most definitely replaced worry as Batman's most eminent feeling in that moment, rage beyond even that which Kaah was displaying at losing his target. It was time he unleashed it on Kaah. All of it. Kaah would _not _get the chance to hurt Diana again.

All of his own injuries forgotten to the moment, Batman charged, snatching up the injector as he ran, giving Kaah no indication that he was coming. Kaah's first and only clue was feeling as Batman launched himself firmly onto the alien's back once again. This time, though, Kaah had no chance to throw Batman off.

Batman slammed the injector into the gash he had dug into Kaah's shoulder, unleashing the maximum dosage with no thoughts of what the consequences might be. After what he had just seen, Batman didn't care how bad Kaah's reaction to the stuff would be, just so long as it worked.

Kaah stopped slashing in that moment. Batman could feel Kaah weakening beneath him, could feel as he slightly swayed. He then also felt Kaah somewhat overcome it.

With a fresh growl of rage, Kaah resumed his wild slashing with the blade, but no longer was he aiming it into that fading fog. Now he was slinging the knife behind him, virtually plunging it into his own back in wild attempts to hit Batman. That told Batman one key thing; he had successfully distracted Kaah from his obsession. What he was doing must be working. He just had to keep doing it until Kaah was down.

Even while wriggling to ensure that Kaah didn't hit him with that knife, Batman quickly refilled the injector with another of his stock from his utility belt. Kaah began striding away, moving away from Diana and back into the centre of the bridge in big strides, trying to shake Batman off him to plunge that knife into him. But Batman clung on, and sunk the injector back into that cut again.

Once more Kaah howled. Once more he didn't go down, but now Batman could hear that the alien was weakening from his screams. Even Kaah's wild swings to try and shake Batman loose were not as forceful as they had been just moments ago.

And so Batman went again, and again, and again. He kept injecting Kaah with more and more of the sedative, until his very last dosage was all used up. Kaah tried to fight him all the way, but Batman knew that the sedative would be weakening his mind as well as his body. The attempts to kill off Batman faded greatly, the knife now almost at the point where it wouldn't have penetrated Batman even if Kaah had struck home with it.

But even as the last bout of sedative was injected into Kaah, the alien still remained conscious. He dropped down to his knees. He even dropped the knife. Clearly Kaah was out of it. Clearly there was no longer anything that he could do to stop Batman, at least until his body had time to fight the sedative off. That might not be long, given how much it had taken to weaken him to even this point, but Batman didn't need long.

Yet. In one of the ultimate rarities, Batman could not think clearly, could not think logically, could not even think about his mission. Kaah was beaten, but Batman's rage was not satisfied. In his minds eye, all Batman could still see was that knife plunging into Diana's chest. This man had to pay.

With Kaah on his knees, looking ready to keel over more and panting deep breaths, he could do nothing to stop what Batman did next. Slowly he climbed off the alien's back, marching around to stare him right in the eyes. Batman's jaw was clenched, his fury plain as day on his face. Kaah was too out of it to show how he was feeling, but just looking into those eyes was enough to really send Batman over the edge.

And so he hit him. Again. And again. And again. And then again after that, using both his knuckle duster and his bare fist, not caring about the pain shooting through those fingers as he struck. He had no intentions to stop until Kaah was just a bloody pulp at his feet. He had no idea how long he was doing it, but with Kaah remaining up on his knees, he wasn't about to stop, not after what this man so very nearly did to her. He would _not _harm Diana. He would _never _even threaten her again. Batman was going to see to that. He howled his rage out with an almighty, lung bursting yell as he struck more and more times. Right then, rules were made to be broken, even if he only had the one.

"Batman!"

The shout made him stop his fist millimetres away from Kaah's face. It managed to break through to him. Batman stared down at Kaah again. The blood was all over the alien, his face a real mess. Kaah looked like he may have already been coming slowly out of the sedative, but those blows had done real damage. Part of Batman still felt like finishing off the job. The rest of him was suddenly horrified at what he had been so close to doing.

Looking up at Superman helped that side of him win through. Superman was in the doorway, hovering beside Diana's unconscious form. Batman had been so focussed on Kaah, so caught up in his feelings over Diana that he hadn't even noticed the Kryptonian arrive. The concern was deep and clear on his face, not just for the stabbed and unconscious Wonder Woman. Superman was one of the few who actually knew Batman well. He would know that something was seriously wrong for Batman to have been doing what he had just seen him doing. Thankfully, this time his boy scout ways were not annoying. It was that horrified look on Superman's face that finally showed Batman how far he had almost fallen.

And it was that that put him back on the right track. Pushing with his foot, he sent Kaah tumbling to lie still and flat on the ground. The scum was done. No longer could he hurt Diana, so long as Batman now saved the world.

"Batman, the ship's about to–" Superman began to speak again. It was clear he was only holding back the real questions he wanted to ask because of how little time they had before this ship blew and took _everyone _with it.

"I know," Batman growled simply back, already drawing the cryptographic sequencer, marching over towards one of those control boards. It took all his willpower, but Batman had to focus now. He knew how to stop this, knew there was no choice here about _what _to do. Of course, it helped him to see it through by knowing that what had to happen and what he so deeply wanted to happen were forcibly one and the same.

With the device on, Batman got to work programming in the commands to this ship. He didn't have to look to know that behind him Superman was already checking over Diana to make sure she wasn't about to die, clearly convinced that Batman knew what he was doing and leaving him to it. It didn't take Batman long to do what he had to do. Thankfully the ship seemed to be waiting for him to finish long enough to not blow while he was working on it.

"Done," Batman was soon growling upon finishing up the task. He turned away from those controls, marching away back up to the raised part of the bridge. There was a moment as he did so that the rush of air burst into the room; Batman had opened up that viewing window he had spotted earlier, air now cascading through it to even the pressure. He didn't look down at the fallen Kaah who was so obviously watching him closely. He didn't even look at Superman stood over Diana, despite the big Kryptonian watching him too. He simply leant over Diana, checking that stab wound for himself. He was relieved to see that it indeed shouldn't be life threatening, especially if they didn't wait around here for too long. With that in mind he quickly hoisted her up into his arms, with her feeling particularly heavy against his wounded flesh, even if he didn't let on. The irony of him carrying her bridal style was not lost on him, either. "Time to go. Now."

"What?" Superman exclaimed suddenly. "What do you mean '_done_'? Batman, this ship's about to detonate, and it'll destroy the whole world! What's going on here? What have you '_done_'?"

Batman had to fight away frustration. This ship was still going to blow, and he was having to stand around and explain things...

"The explosion can't be stopped. This ship isn't quick enough to get it far enough away out into space either. So I've programmed it's computers to send it to the one place where it can reach to safely detonate; back through the dimensional barrier, back to where it came from. We have to go, _now_."

"But... what about _him_? And won't the blast just come back through the vortex and destroy us anyway?"

Batman sighed, but he needed Superman for his escape route, and clearly Clark needed answers first, needed to know that the world would be safe. Apparently that warehouse in Gotham, and probably what he had just seen too, had thrown up some trust issues.

"The blast will destroy the machine keeping that portal open before the flames can make it through. We'll be safe. As for them, we have no choice. _That man _completely removes a meta's powers when they're in close, and _our _only way of surviving this is to jump. There's no time to get back to the fighters in the hangar. Our only chance of surviving this is for you to fly, and we can't do that with him with us. We _can't _save him. Death's too good for him anyway. We have to go. _Now_."

Batman looked down at Kaah as he said those final words. He truly meant them. Kaah looked back at him, his look practically showing that he knew he was beaten. Batman gave him a glare to make it clear. Then he took his eyes of the scum for the last time.

Instead he looked only down at Diana in his arms as he marched over to that opening to the world below, giving a clear enough message. He was going to jump, and he was taking Diana with him. If Superman wanted them all to live, he _had _to get a shift on. Finally, Superman came over to join him, either knowing Batman was right at last or because his hand had been forced. Batman did not look back as Superman took hold off him. With Kaah still blocking Superman's strength at this range, both men stepped out the open window together, allowing themselves to fall until they were beyond Kaah's influence. Batman kept holding tightly onto Diana's limp form all the way.

As they fell, the air rushing around them, Batman still kept his eyes on Diana's motionless face. He didn't look back as he heard the rumbling engines of that ship moving it away to its fiery end.

He didn't look back as in the periphery of his vision he saw it vanish as it travelled back across the dimensions, and then as the portal itself finally disappeared.

He didn't look up _or_ down when Superman took flight and saved them from hitting the ground.

He just kept looking at Diana, right until they touched down moments later, safe in the knowledge that he had saved her.

But he also knew what he had so nearly done _to _save her. And he knew that there was at least one last part of this that he had to see through before things could even begin to get back to normal.

* * *

Kaah saw Batman and Superman leap out of his ship, carrying her unconscious form with them. He was hurt. He was broken. He was beaten. And he was angry. But he was still determined to try and see her dead with his last breaths.

Kaah knew that his portal would remain open. He wished right then that it would not, that all those soldiers of his that had already fled upon seeing the impeding fate of his ship would deactivate the Gateway and leave him trapped here, so that when the ship blew _she, _and _Batman_, would go with it. He also knew he had done far too good a job in striking fear into those soldiers for that to ever happen. They would never deactivate the Gateway until they had Ovada Kaah back with them. They would be too scared of what he would do if he got back to them alive some other way, even if there was no feasible way _for_ him to survive.

Damn. Why had he had to be so _efficient_?

Heavily weakened by the beating Batman had given him as well as the drug now pumping through his system, Kaah still managed to drag himself to a control panel once the members of the Justice League had leapt clear. The ship was not yet in the portal. He still believed he had time, one last chance to avenge his beloved.

But as soon as he reached that console he saw that his chance was gone. Batman had not simply reprogrammed the ship to return through the dimensional vortex. He had also locked out all the computer systems so that not even the simplest command would work any more.

Kaah howled in fury. He knew he could break back into his ships computers. He also knew that it would take time, time that he did not have.

He was powerless to stop it as the ship that had served him so well, that had seen to the deaths of so many iterations of Wonder Woman and her planet, flew deep into that still swirling vortex to the final dimension where he had been victorious. He was powerless as he saw the ship emerge back over that wasteland of an Earth, where all his surviving soldiers had once again gathered in the encampment surrounding the Gateway.

And he was powerless to stop the explosion. After so many victories against the Justice League, he had finally been beaten. In the process, it had killed his ship, his army, his Gateway, and him.

The roar of the blast was the first thing that struck him as the core could no longer hold back. The heat of the flames was not far behind.

With his last breath, Ovada Kaah cursed Wonder Woman and the man who had done so much to save her. He was so lost in his rage at them that he did not even think of the beloved wife who he had been doing all this for before the fires took him.

Ovada Kaah – and the threat he posed – was done. He was dead.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**Might have taken a bit longer to get you it than normal, but there it is. The big, final battle has come and has been won. No surprise who it was who wins.**_

_**Anyways, thought it best to let you guys all know that I'll be going away for a couple of weeks, but this thing isn't done quite yet. There's still plenty of wrapping up to do, and a certain reunion scene I've been holding back from everyone for long enough in the last few chapters. Can't not have it after all this, but I might have to tease you over it a bit more yet. I'll be back with all that remains as soon as prior commitments will allow, shouldn't be more than two or three weeks. **_

_**In the meantime, keep the reviews/favourites/follows flowing in. I'll try to make the wait worth it when the time comes.**_


	19. Chapter 18: Wake Up Call

**Chapter 18: Wake Up Call**

Flash was still running. People still needed him to get them out of the city in a hurry. Right now he was carrying an old woman who hadn't been able to get out of her building before the alien fire had struck it. Flash had heard her cries from the rubble as he had been whizzing past, making him come to a very sudden stop. She had been trapped under some heavy chunks of brick and stone. With the passing Vixen's help he had gotten her out from underneath it. She was lucky. Her leg was a real bloodied mess, bent out of shape in more than one way, but otherwise she seemed fine. Still, with that leg so bad she needed to have medics taking a look at her urgently. Normally it would have been best not to move her, to bring the medics to her, but with the threat of those attack fighters and guns from the sky to everyone who went into the city, that wasn't an option.

And so Flash carried her out of there, towards the same medical tent where he had left Shayera, focusing so much on where he was going that he spared not even a glance to the battlefield that was the skies over Athens. He could still hear the shouts, the booms of guns and the whines of engines up there; that was all he needed to know.

Once again he was at the tent in no time. He was the Flash, so of course he got to the tent quickly. Just like before Flash quickly had the woman handed over to the medics, laid out in another treatment area that was virtually full. Medics immediately began sweeping around her, not even bothering to ask Flash what had happened this time as they instantly started looking over that leg. The old woman was saying something to him, but Flash had no idea what. Her words were all Greek to him. Literally.

He then stepped back, ready to sprint away again and back to the city to look for more survivors in need of his help. Before he would allow himself to set off, though, he had to at least see how Shayera was doing, even if it wasn't long since he dropped her off. Wally West always kept an eye out for his friends.

He never got close to her, seeing something there that made him stop. But it wasn't something bad. Doc Conway was no longer at Shayera's side, and her eyes were half open now, awake yet clearly resting. Shayera normally wouldn't agree to rest when a fight was going on, no matter how injured she was. But right now she had a reason to stay there. GL was by her side, softly holding her hand.

Flash grinned at the sight. The word 'finally' may have been going through his mind. He fought back the urge to go and rock the boat by telling GL that Vixen was doing fine in the battle. He knew GL's reaction to it would amuse him, but he didn't want to ruin this moment. In no small part, that was because he was very definitely backing Shayera in the tug of war between her and Vixen over GL's heart. Flash knew that GL was being so awkward over his women issues that this wouldn't be the be all and end all of them, but right now it was close enough.

So he left them too it, relieved at the knowledge that Shayera was safe, but also wanting to make sure that everyone else who needed his help was equally safe. However, as he left the big medical tent, Flash saw something else that prevented him from sprinting back off into the heart of city. He spared a glance across to where he had encountered Inza and Dr. Fate before, wondering if the wizard had accomplished his task against that spaceship that had done so much of the damage he was trying to save people from.

And he saw that Dr. Fate was no longer meditating.

"Hey, Doc!" he called out instinctively. "You've stopped with all the voodoo. You broken through that magical thingamabob up there already?"

Fate's back had been to him, as had Inza's. They were both looking up into the skies, very intently.

"I could not do so quickly enough," Dr. Fate answered without looking back to him, causing Flash to step forward and swipe his hand in front of Fate's face to make sure he was actually in the real world. Fate largely ignored the wave, instead gesturing for Flash to look up into the skies himself with a slight nod of his head. "But it turned out that I didn't need to. Batman has done it all for us."

"_Batman_?" Flash incredulously repeated the word. Since when had Batman been here? He'd been off in that other dimension, hadn't he? But then, this ship had come from another dimension too...

And then Flash saw what Fate and Inza were staring at in the skies. At last he noticed that all those fighter ships had vanished, almost certainly back through that portal they had come from. That wasn't all, either. That big ship was flying back into it too. Before his eyes Flash saw as it slowly lumbered all the way through, disappearing away completely. Barely seconds later, there was the momentary glow, and then the portal the attackers and come through was completely gone. The fight was over. They'd won.

And that still wasn't all that Flash saw. Just as Fate had said, the billowing black cape soon told Flash that Batman was indeed back. The red and blue made it clear that Superman was flying him away from the ship. Flash instantly pumped a fist, knowing that those two had won the day for them. Somehow.

And then he saw what was in Batman's arms as the heroes flew closer to them. Wonder Woman, unmoving, bloodied. The worry came back to Flash in a... well, _flash_. Victory couldn't have meant _that _price was paid. It couldn't...

As Superman carried Batman-carrying-Wonder Woman ever nearer to where he, Fate and Inza stood, Flash couldn't help but hold his breath in dread.

* * *

"What happened? Is Diana okay?"

When Superman touched them down beside a tent with Flash, Dr. Fate and his wife all watching them, Flash had instantly asked the question, worry so evident in his tone. Batman ignored the question. She was still unconscious in his arms, that knife still embedded in her bloodied chest. She had lost a fair amount of blood, but now that she was away from Kaah's influence Batman knew that her healing abilities would soon be kicking in. With medical attention thrown in too, his analytical side was sure that she would be fine in no time and would wake up even quicker. His more human side was far too emotional right now for him to be able to risk listening to.

Not looking at the gathering beside the tent, not even looking at Superman's eyes, he gently handed Wonder Woman over to the man of steel. Superman looked surprised again by the action, but he didn't refuse to take her as Batman placed her in his arms.

"Get her taken care of," Batman simply told Superman. He tried to keep his voice as expectedly normal as possible, but no doubt with his enhanced hearing Clark would notice the difference. "I had to hit her with a sonic shock to protect her from Kaah. She should be fine once you safely remove the knife, and replace all lost blood that's necessary."

At that Batman turned away. He knew he had somewhere else to be. He had known it ever since he and Kaah had first been face to face, but he had also known that it would have to wait until the alien was dealt with. He knew there was one thing left he had to do to truly finish this thing off, to make sure the _original _source of this threat would not rise its ugly head again, that it would not threaten Diana again. Besides, with her in this state, with his own emotions going haywire, he knew that he also had to get away from this, no matter how much he just wanted to stay by her side. No matter how much he wanted to be there forever.

"Wait, what about you?" Superman called after him as Batman began stalking away. "You can't go now Batman. You're not exactly looking ship shape yourself. And there's still plenty of answers that the Justice League needs from you. I'm sure Diana will want to hear them too when she wakes up."

Batman paused a moment, but he didn't look back. He could feel all his own wounds, the cuts, the scrapes, the battered flesh, the cracked bones, but right then he didn't care. He just knew he had to go, and had to have Superman let him and go take care of Wonder Woman.

"Not now. I'll explain everything later. Just see to her."

He knew that Clark could well understand, or at least that he would think he understood. After what Superman had seen Batman doing to Kaah on that bridge, after all he knew about Batman's psyche, no doubt he would also know how worried Bruce was about what he had almost done up there. No doubt he would know that Batman would need time to come to terms with that, to find a way to re-set his mind and will to prevent it ever happening again. Even if Superman couldn't know the source of it all...

"Because I don't really have a choice right now, I'll give you time, Batman," Superman voiced that acceptance, but he didn't really sound too happy about it. Clearly he was referring to the need to get Diana treated, which he couldn't do at the same time as keeping Batman there. It would have been simpler on him if he could just hand her over to someone else to look after, but the boy scout wasn't the type to be able to do that, especially not when the world didn't need him. "But the Justice League needs answers. We need to know what all this was about, who those guys _are...were._ And we'll need to know more about _all _that you did to stop it."

Batman did look back to Superman this time, but largely to take in Diana still in his arms. Once again, his words were simple.

"You know where I'll be."

And then he was gone.

* * *

Superman saw as J'onn landed beside him moments after Batman left. Flash, Fate and Inza were all left in stunned silence by the whole thing. For Flash to be silent... Well, that must have really indicated something about what had just happened. J'onn didn't say anything either as he looked at Diana in Superman's arms.

Superman knew that there was only one thing to do now. Flash had been doing well enough leading the assistance and clean up efforts down here. He could continue to do so. Wonder Woman was Superman's other best friend besides the one he had just been forced to watch leave again. He now had to go and make sure that she was okay. J'onn nodded understanding to him.

"Superman to Mr. Terrific," he said into his comm device to the one Leaguer left active on the Watchtower. "Bring J'onn, Wonder Woman and myself up there now. We have a medical situation."

* * *

Flash watched as Superman, J'onn and the unconscious Diana all teleported away. He still hadn't a clue what was going on. All he could do was stare. Even the one liners weren't coming to his mind at that moment. It was like everything had shut down up there in his mind. For those moments, the fastest man alive had suddenly become one of the slowest. Worrying about Diana and the ongoing mystery about Bats did that to him, especially with Supes not giving him any kind of answers, even if hedidn't know it all yet either.

"My friend, it appears that for us, the war is over," Dr. Fate's voice snapped Flash out of his open mouthed stare at the path which Batman had vanished down. Flash turned to look at Fate, his mind catching up. "And it seems that you are now the ranking member of the Justice League on site. I shall leave you to arrange the clean up and assistance for the remaining civilians."

"Wait, you're going?" Flash stumbled around the hurried words. "What if those dudes up there come back and we need you to pull that rabbit out of your hat?"

"They won't be coming back," Dr. Fate simply answered. "Otherwise Batman and Superman would have remained. Whatever happened up there, we can rest assured that this is over. It is time for us to return home."

Beside him, Inza nodded as if to confirm Dr. Fate's statement. Before Flash knew it, the glowing ankh appeared and the two magicians were gone, leaving Flash stood there alone.

"Great," Flash muttered, still devoid of any kind of answers. He liked helping people. It was what he was born to do. And he would gladly help those left in the city who still needed him. But he didn't like clean ups. They were rather..._slow_. Thankfully, he wasn't left alone to run the show for long.

"Did I just here Batman and Superman out he–? Judas Priest! The aliens! They're gone!"

"Way to keep up with the game, GL," Flash retorted with a cheeky smile, spinning to see John emerging out from the medical tent. "They just flew away a minute ago, back through that swirly thing in the sky. I reckon Bats scared them off with his angry face. Or he's got some Alien Repellent Bat-Spray on that utility belt of his. He's got everything else on there. Did you know he was up there? Yeah, just flew down with Supes and Diana as the bad guys were running, tail between their legs! We won!"

"I don't get it," GL sounded disbelieving. "How? How'd they do it?"

Flash could only shrug. "Nobody would tell me. Bats has run off on his own again. Supes would've gone after him but he and J'onn had to..."

For a moment he trailed off. These weren't words that he wanted to say, but the look on GL's face pushed him into finishing.

"They had to rush back up to the Watchtower. Diana got hurt up there... during whatever it was that happened. Apparently its not _too _bad. She should be fine, Bats said, but they took her up to the Watchtower to make sure."

"And Batman didn't go with them?" GL sounded all the more disbelieving. Flash had no idea why. After these last few days _he _certainly wasn't surprised that Bats didn't want to hang out with the League again like nothing had happened.

"Nope, just wandered away. Probably long gone as well, knowing him. No doubt he's got a Bat-train hidden away round here or something," he informed his friend. Then his fun side won through and he decided that, with GL alone, it might _now _be fun to rock the boat slightly. "How's Shayera doing? I thought I saw you two getting cosy back there..."

Flash winked at the word 'cosy'. GL didn't look too amused by that.

"She's fine," he answered, trying to make it sound like he hadn't worried for her more than he would have done anybody else. _Anybody _else. "Got a shot through one of her wings but the doctors say that she'll recover fully after they see to it in a bit more depth, though she might need some surgery on it before she can fly again. It was the shock of the pain of it that made her black out more than anything...but you didn't hear that from me. She wouldn't like people to know that she got hospitalized in the middle of a fight by anything that wasn't even life threatening. Anyway, Doctor Conway sent her up to the Watchtower too, since there's nothing more they can really do for her down here. And with all the wounded from the city, they could do with the bed."

"Good, so you won't be too distracted to help out with the clean up side of things then," Flash retorted, now starting to sound pleased with himself. So much so that he decided to rock the boat the rest of the way. "Vixen's fine too, by the way."

He didn't wait around to see GL's actual reaction to that. The mental image of his face was funny enough for Flash. Instead he began racing back to the city, to people's aid. He knew that the process would take a while, even with GL assisting. Those aliens had done a lot of damage to a once beautiful city in their short time here.

Hopefully, when it was all done, the rest would be able to tell him what had actually happened up there.

And hopefully by then he would know for sure that Diana was going to be all right.

* * *

"Bruce!"

She had started to do so slowly at first but, when she remembered what had happened just before she had blacked out, Diana awoke with a start. She literally flew up into the air, ready to battle, hoping that her enhanced durability meant that she had awoken again mere seconds after collapsing. She had called out his name before she had even looked at the room around her, still determined to try and save him.

Then she saw that she wasn't on the spaceship any more.

A lot more time than a few seconds must have passed. She was aboard the Watchtower, in the medical area. She recognised it as soon as she actually took it all in, even if she had never really had any need to use it herself much before now. She wasn't alone in there either. A couple of beds over, Shayera lay, a nasty looking hole in her wing. In a bed opposite Dove was hooked up to machinery, looking like he had taken a nasty hit in the fighting but like he would be okay, Hawk sat watching over him. Wildcat was in another bunk, looking like he was sleeping off a nasty blow to the head, Creeper likewise, while Booster Gold seemed to be dealing with a series of rather nasty looking burns. Finally, Superman and J'onn were standing at the side of what was obviously her bed.

Diana then quickly looked down at her chest. The knife was gone. A bandage was wrapped around her where the blade had been, but she knew that soon there wouldn't even be a scar underneath it. Feeling slightly embarrassed, she dropped back into the bed, but remained sat upright with her legs dangling over the side, facing the two men.

"What happened?" she simply asked of them both, trying not to disturb the other healing members of the League any more than her sudden action would have done already. She resisted the urge to ask about Bruce straight away. She had already guessed that he wasn't on the Watchtower as soon as she hadn't seen him here with the rest of them.

Besides which, after how he had forced her out of the fight, she was none too happy with him right now. Even if she did love him, she was certainly angry with him. She should be asking _him _these questions. He should have told her what was going on days ago. He shouldn't have taken her out of the fight.

And, of course, he _had _to have made it out alive too...

Diana always liked a challenge, and in Bruce her heart had chosen her one of the toughest of the lot. Hera, things would have been far easier if it had been Superman that she had fallen in love with. But then, they would also be far simpler, duller and even less _fun_. No, Kal was a just great friend, her best, the closest thing she would ever have to a brother. Bruce was different. Bruce was something more.

"Batman happened," Superman answered her, shrugging. That action alone told her that they didn't have all the answers yet. It told her that Batman was still not back with them at all yet, or they would likely have those answers. But it also told her that Batman was alive. Superman's face would have been a lot more sorrowful if his friend was dead instead of just alone. Nevertheless, Diana did listen on as Superman expanded. "The attackers are all gone. For good. They're own weapon took care of that, once Batman managed to re-program that ship to go back through to its own dimension. As for who they were or why they were here, we still haven't a clue. Batman's the only one who knows and he hasn't told us yet. But what matters most is that the Earth is safe. And that you're okay."

He said that last part almost as if it was a question. Not quite, but close enough. It was also pretty clear that he was yet to tell her everything. There was something else, something that was troubling him. That meant Diana had to know what that something was.

"I'm fine, Kal. It was just a flesh wound, really. It was the leader of the attacking forces. He somehow stopped my powers working, otherwise I would never have been hurt that badly by that blow. But, Kal; what aren't you telling me?"

Superman sighed before relenting. "It was Batman. When I got to the ships bridge, just before the end. I found him... Diana, he was about to kill the man who stabbed you."

Diana immediately understood why Kal sounded perturbed about that. Bruce would never kill anyone. Never. But Superman wouldn't be lying to her... And it would have happened just after she had been stabbed and Bruce had knocked her out to try and protect her...

Now it was more important to her to talk with Bruce quickly, and not only to make sure he was okay, physically _and _mentally. Diana was instantly convinced that she knew why he had acted like that, but she had to know for sure. She had to hear him say it.

She also knew that, after what he apparently had almost done, he would be very reclusive for a while as he tried to get past his moment of losing his usually steadfast control.

Diana didn't say anything in response to Superman's statement. There was nothing _to _say that was worth saying right then and there. As silence lingered, J'onn stepped in, though not verbally. He had clearly heard her thoughts on the subject.

"_I agree, Diana. Batman seems to have done all of this for you._"

"Do we know when he's coming back?" Diana said at last, in part to not let her face betray any emotions brought about by the subtle comment J'onn had meant only for her. Superman and the others still couldn't know what J'onn had made her realise down in Gotham, not until she had _finally _talked with Bruce.

"Not yet," Superman shook his head. "I thought it best to give him a couple of days to sort himself out again after that. But we will get the answers, even if we have to go after him again. For now though, you should just concentrate on resting. Your powers may have come back but you were out for a good while."

J'onn gave her a silent nod at that, as if giving her his medical opinion that rest would be good for her right now. So she relented, swinging her legs back up onto the cot. She wasn't done yet though. Bruce may have come to the forefront of her mind more than ever recently, but that didn't mean she had forgotten everyone else.

"I'll rest then, but don't worry about me. How's everyone else doing? And the city? Were there any casualties?"

"Unfortunately we couldn't save everyone. Many of the people of the city were dead before we even got there. But we saved a lot, and Athens will recover," Superman told her in a more sombre tone. "The entire League made it through alive, thankfully. A few nasty injuries and a close scrape but nothing lasting. Most are still down there helping restore normality. I know Flash for one will be glad when I tell him that you're all right."

Diana had a very good sense as to why the whole League survived. It was because the aliens had focused so much on her that despite their vast numbers they didn't have enough to kill any of the highly skilled and experienced heroes while she was fending them all off. And of course, once she was out of the way of those fighters and guns, there hadn't been a whole lot of time for them to take advantage against everyone else. She shared Superman's sorrow that people had died in the attack, but there was no longer anything any of them could do for them. Those responsible had been brought to justice already. Now things were all about the future, and moving on into it. Shayera began that process with a muttered comment from the next bed over, clearly not resting quite as much as it had seemed.

"If Wally makes one joke about women fighters with us both in here, tell him I'll hunt him down and ram my mace upside his head."

That comment definitely helped Diana begin to move on. With it clearly being more playful in nature, it helped to lighten her mood. A smile crept over Diana's lips at Shayera's words. Despite all that she was still feeling, she was smiling. It was a good sign that even through all the anger, doubts and pain she could still show joy. It was a good sign that falling for the Batman didn't mean that she was just becoming exactly like him. She was every bit as strong and independent as he was. That was why she could be so annoyed with him for what he had done to her on that ship. It was part of the reason why she loved him too, and why she knew that he was the _only _one for her.

He just had to come back to the League, and to her. And he had to do it fast, so that she could finally talk to him. And _hit_ him.

And then maybe kiss him too, so long as he gave her the answer she knew deep down was true.

Looking up at J'onn before he and Superman left her and the others to their rest, likely heading off to help out Flash and those Leaguers still helping the people of Athens, Diana could tell that the Martian had heard her thinking that too.

And Diana could only smile wider as his face lit up at what he had heard. Yes, it would _definitely _be interesting when she finally got Bruce back, cornered and alone with her. She was just annoyed that it might still take a while.

* * *

**_A/N:_**

**_So here it is. I'm back to get this done. From here on in updates'll be slower than they were pre-gap but, still, back I be. As usual, review/follow/favourite. I will be grateful. Not much to go now..._**


	20. Chapter 19: Repercussions

**Chapter 19: Repercussions**

The bag was ripped from his head, sending the intense light crashing down upon him. He rammed his eyes shut for a minute, needing them to adjust so that he wasn't blinded by it. Only when he managed to open them again did he get to see where he was.

It was the middle of a desert, nothing to be seen for miles around but sand, sky and rock. There wasn't a single cloud in the sky, meaning that the blaring sun was roaring down at him. He could already feel the bare patches of skin not shielded by clothing beginning to burn.

Which desert it was he had no idea. From the moment he had been torn from his hideout, he hadn't exactly been made privy to where they were going. In fact, his captor had made sure to disorient all his senses, meaning he not only couldn't see where they were flying to, but he couldn't work it out either. All his ability to keep track of time had been taken from him for the entire flight here.

And now here he was, being dumped in the middle of nowhere by the _normal _man he knew the world needed. The _normal_ man who he hoped the Justice League now knew _exactly _how much was needed. The _normal_ man he hoped proved to them once and for all that humanity would _always _be stronger than metas, that humanity would _always _find a way. That was the proof that he hoped would keep _them _firmly in line.

"Start walking," Batman snarled to him, tossing Bert Westwood a canteen after removing the binders that had been wrapped around his hands. His arm was raised, pointing Bert in the direction he should go. "You've got enough water there to last you two and a half days. If you keep moving, you'll reach civilisation in three. Just in time for you to really feel the burn, but you'll be alive. Consider this your last warning Westwood. I know what you did. Do _not _try anything against them again."

Westwood knew what he had done too. He hadn't been entirely truthful when Batman had come to him in Gotham that first time, after Deadshot had sent him there. He had told Batman all about his own background with Cadmus, about the fact that Kaah was coming to attack the Earth, about what he knew of why Kaah hated the world and what would happen if he was successful. Where he had been deceptive was in _why _Kaah was then set to attack this dimension. The alien hadn't just stumbled upon Westwood observing his exploits as Bert had told Batman that day. Westwood had actually _told _Kaah he was there. He had _invited _Kaah to attack the prime dimension next.

Because Albert Westwood still believed very firmly in that original Cadmus mission. He still believed that a League full of super-powered beings was one of the biggest threats facing the Earth, whether they were currently trying to be or not. After the breakdown of the full Cadmus operations against the Justice League, Westwood had decided to carry on that mission alone. His refusal to give it up had been why he had been 'let go' by the government, why he had wound up working out of that tiny Gotham apartment, and why he had had to come up with a plan other than to simply be there to stop the League when the time came. _That _he couldn't do alone. He wasn't strong or able enough. Batman, however, was.

That was why he had made the plan regarding Ovada Kaah. Westwood was no fool. He had made a deal with Kaah, that the alien despot could come to this Earth, kill off Wonder Woman, Superman the rest and then leave the planet alone. But Bert had known all along that Kaah would never stick to that, that the world _would _be threatened. It was, though, a risk Westwood was prepared to take. As far as he was concerned, the world was already threatened, but he could utilise the danger Kaah would pose as a tool. It was a tool to inspire Batman to take the alien on, and to do so alone. He _needed _Batman to stop this man alone, and he had needed the Justice League to fail in any attempts to help him. He needed to make the Justice League see that, ultimately, it was Batman who was the strongest of them. He needed the League to see irrefutably that the best among them was the only one of their original members that had no kind of special powers.

Because then the scum of Gotham City would no longer be the only ones to fear the Batman. Westwood couldn't stand guard over the Justice League himself to ensure that they didn't turn on the world they were supposed to protect, but the spectre of the Bat could. The Justice League would see what Batman was capable of where they themselves were powerless. They would see that Batman would be able to stop them. And, from how he had shut them out so well to go after Kaah, they would know that he would be more than willing to go up against them if he had to.

And, with the world saved, Westwood's plan had all come to fruition.

Of course, he hadn't planned on Batman finding out what he had done, nor had he planned on Batman being able to track him down. He knew that there was the risk of Kaah giving away his actions when Batman faced the fiend though, and he had figured that the Justice League might somehow find out that it had been he who had sent Batman off on a solo crusade without them. Westwood had not fancied facing either Batman or the League if they came for him. He wasn't a physical man. He was devout in his mission, but he was easily intimidated. He couldn't pretend otherwise.

And so he had gone into hiding, well away from where _anyone _should have been able to find him. From his hideout he had watched as things had all developed, had watched as the battle over Athens had unfolded, and had watched on as he knew that Batman had saved the world. After that he had begun solitary celebrations for a plan well executed, a mission accomplished. It had gone on for a few hours.

And then Batman had shown up.

Westwood did not see him coming until the fist had slammed into his face. Another blow had then struck him in the ribs, before he had been knocked down to his knees. Then the bag had been shoved on his head, the gag in his mouth and his hands bound, before he had been _escorted _away to what he guessed was the Batwing and flown away to here.

Now he watched as Batman climbed back into the Batwing parked just behind him, using his now free hands to remove the gag Batman had left in. He didn't say anything, did not make any attempts to plea for mercy. He knew he would get none, but he could accept that. Batman would not kill him, and he wasn't being jailed. He was still a free man so long as he followed Batman's advice and made the long and surely _tiring _walk back to civilisation. Bringing him here was an effective weapon for Batman. Westwood knew that now he wouldn't be trying anything against the League again, not with how unpleasant this 'warning' was going to be for him. But he could accept this fate, because he was also convinced that he would not need to act again.

Batman also remained silent as the cockpit of the Batwing sealed behind him. Westwood stepped away as the gust of jets began, not wanting to get blown off of his feet as the Batwing took to the air. The black craft stood out strikingly against the blue skies, but not for long. Soon it was gone, and Westwood was alone.

There was then nothing for Westwood to do but start walking.

* * *

Batman flew away without looking back. He knew that what he had done was extreme, but he had no regrets. He had wanted to do so much worse than that. If Superman hadn't shown up in time to stop him killing Kaah, if he hadn't been snapped out of the hold of the homicidal rage he had been fighting to keep in check for years, Batman knew that he would have killed Westwood just now instead of abandoning him to the desert. Westwood would suffer for the next few days, though, just as he deserved to.

And he would now never threaten the Justice League again, in any manner. Finally, the threat that had begun with Deadshot and the Death Row gang way back in Central City, the threat that had lead him to Gotham, new dimensions and then the skies above Athens, was completely over.

Diana was truly safe.

At that thought, Batman let out a long held in sigh of relief. It was over.

It was also then that he first started to _really_ feel those wounds he had sustained at the hands of Ovada Kaah, including a few extra ones that he had not even felt at the time. Alfred would have his work cut out for him with all the patching up he would have to do this time. Or he might feel like giving Batman a few more wounds. He was sure that the League had found him in that warehouse by going to see the old butler. The fact that Alfred had told them were to find him no doubt signified that he wouldn't be too happy about how Batman had handled things, just as the Justice League so obviously weren't.

Batman knew that the League still wanted answers. He would give them answers, but he wouldn't go back yet, not for a good while. In fact, he knew that the League would end up coming to him first. Superman clearly couldn't wait as long as Batman needed him and the others to, and the Justice League would want to know more than just the standard style report that Batman was planning to send them. They would want to know more about his state of mind than he ever liked to divulge, given what he had so nearly done.

But despite being sure that his Kryptonian friend would be the one insisting on paying him a visit, Bruce couldn't help but wish that a certain one of the others would end up beating him to it.

He knew that he had a lot to tell her, but he also knew that, no matter what he wanted, he couldn't bring himself to volunteer to say it. He needed her to come to him, to force him to finally say the words he had feared to hear himself saying for so long. He dearly wished that she would.

No doubt in a matter of days, once everyone had had time to begin to recover from this ordeal, he would find out if he would get that wish.

* * *

_**Three Days Later**_

Considering how short three days actually are, a lot had certainly been happening. The clean up in Athens was well under way, so much so that people were no longer actually using that term and had started talking about recovery instead. One way or the other, all the citizens of the city had been accounted for by now, thanks to the assistance of Flash, GL and the other members of the Justice League. Now the city, national and world authorities had taken over the efforts, with a lot of charitable assistance. The citizens were being taken back to their homes, those who still had them anyway. For the rest, shelters were being put up while the rebuilding efforts were progressing.

The world as a whole had not failed to make its opinion known. The billions who hadn't had to live through the attack all knew what had happened, or at least the basic gist of it. The Justice League received praise for their efforts to save lives, but people were still scared about what other dimension's could possibly send their way next. First the Justice Lords and now this. People were fully trusting the Justice League again after the Cadmus debacle, but they didn't want to have to permanently rely on them if they could at all protect themselves, especially against threats that they might not even see coming. Talk was spreading of finding some way of preventing all of these other dimensions from so easily accessing this one.

A certain Bruce Wayne had been one of those talking. As far as the public believed, he was still off somewhere gallivanting around the Pacific as only billionaire playboys could do, but he had still phoned in to a Gotham talk show to let the people know he was pledging Wayne Enterprises' R&D department to assist the efforts to somehow block cross-dimensional travel world wide. He was also known to be returning to his city, coincidentally around the exact same time that Batman began patrolling the streets again.

On a less global note but also on a similar theme, the Justice League had received Batman's report about the whole situation, from its beginnings to its end. The other six Founders had all had a chance to look over it, and now they were all gathering in the conference room to discuss what they had read.

But the thing that Diana had most wanted, rather predictably, had yet to happen. Batman had yet to return to the League. She had yet to get her chance to talk to him. Having seen Batman's report she knew that she wouldn't be the only one still seeking that to happen soon, but she was certainly the one most longing for it.

"Let's get straight to business," Superman announced once J'onn and Green Lantern had Shayera lowered into her usual seat, meaning they were all in place – except Bruce, of course. The Thanagarian's wing was still healing, still hurting her, causing her to need the assistance to get here, no matter how much she tried to hide it. Typically though, she was still insisting on not allowing the two men to hold her up when anyone other than her fellow Founders were around. She would not let her pride get wounded too. "I assume you've all read Batman's report?"

Diana nodded while the others also gave their affirmatives, with Flash's of course the most colourful. With J'onn and the League's other medics all insisting she stay on the Watchtower for a few days to ensure there were no lasting effects from her encounter with that alien leader – Ovada Kaah, as they now knew him to be called – Diana had had little else to do _but_ read the report when it came in.

In fact, she had read it several times to try and distract her mind. At the very least she had wanted to go and lend her own assistance to the people of Athens, both in her role as a member of the Justice League and as a Themysciran ambassador. More than that she had wanted to go to Gotham and corner Bruce. Her anger with him had mellowed somewhat over the days simply from the passage of time; her need for answers had not. Regardless though, reading about how Bruce protected Athens and the world didn't distract her from either of those desires, no matter how many times she read it.

It didn't help that she got the distinct impression every time she scanned through the words that Batman might not have told them the _entire _story. He had mentioned that night when Deadshot had given him the warning, how the assassin had told him to go to Bert Westwood to learn about an attack on the Earth. He had mentioned how he had then proceeded to interrogate Westwood after leaving Deadshot 'apprehended', describing the details about Ovada Kaah, his army and his weapon as Westwood had told him. At the same time he had described what he knew of Westwood, how the man was ex-Cadmus and very anti-meta humans, saying that that was the reason why Westwood had insisted on Batman going after Kaah alone. He had also described how he had found Westwood where none of the rest of them could, and that the man would not be posing them any more problems.

Batman had told them all about his escapades in that other dimension, scouting out the alien forces, hacking their computer devices, learning their language and discovering how to defeat Kaah. He had discussed how he had got captured and been brought face-to-face with Kaah himself, and how the villain had threatened to make him watch as he destroyed the Earth. He discussed how the invasion had begun before he could stop it, how he had escaped and then, finally, defeated Kaah and his threat for good.

And Batman had mentioned that the knowledge of the dangers Kaah posed against anyone who fought with enhanced powers was the reason he had insisted on doing it all without help, including why he had attacked them all in that warehouse.

Yet he had not hurt Diana there as he had the rest. He had made no mention of why those aliens had tried so hard to kill her instead of all the many others, why that Ovada Kaah had been so obsessed with the death of Wonder Woman. He had made no mention of why he had almost lost control at the end when he had nearly killed Kaah. And he had made no mention of how, once all the League were already involved during that end fight, he still had not seen it fit to trust them and tell them what he was doing, to the extent he had let Superman unknowingly set off the explosion that had destroyed the ship and, worse for her, had forcibly taken her out of the fight when it was in its most important phase.

In her heart, though, Diana thought she knew the reason behind all that Bruce had left unsaid. She hoped she did, at least. No matter how well she thought she knew him, Batman was always full of surprises.

"Couldn't put it down," Flash answered Superman's question first, sounding bored. He really wasn't one for sitting and reading, even if he could scroll through it all far faster than any of them.

"Yes, _very _informative," Shayera gave her opinion, sarcasm blatant. Her own detective mind would no doubt have found even more gaps in Bruce's report than Diana had. Gaps of a certain kind anyway. Besides which, Shayera was one of those yet to give up her grudge against Bruce for _that _night in the warehouse.

"I can see that I'm not alone in my concerns about this," Superman responded to what he was hearing. "But before we get onto what could be a more emotionally charged subject, I suggest we first deal with the issue of this alien Ovada Kaah and the threats we may face from other dimensions."

"The world is right to be scared of what might come at us next," J'onn voiced his opinion. "However, until an attack comes there is very little that the Justice League can do against such threats. I believe that it is right that the people of Earth are trying to find the means to block cross-dimensional travel completely. Until they do, the best I can suggest is that we ensure we observe, but don't get involved in what is happening in other dimensions. Though, of course, to avoid another Cadmus situation we should do so in collaboration with all national authorities and the UN."

"Seconded," Flash leapt in first again.

"I agree too," Diana concurred. J'onn, as he so often did, had made a very good point. Of course, Bruce Wayne seemed to have beaten them to it based on that interview he had given. "We can't exactly interfere in other dimensions or we'll end up causing what happened to repeat itself."

"Yeah, that does all sound good," Green Lantern also agreed, meaning they had four Founders on side in case of a vote. "As for this _Ovada Kaah_ fellow that was apparently behind all of this, it sounds like we won't be having any trouble with _that _version of him again. As for the Kaah from our dimension... Well from the descriptions of him in Batman's report, I know he's not a species I've ever come across, but one of the other Lantern's might know something. When we're done here I'll travel to Oa and inform the Guardians that he's a person of interest we need to keep an eye on. He might be the nicest guy around over here, but I'll make sure they make sure."

"Good idea," Shayera muttered, not sounding too pleased. Diana guessed why, and it wasn't because she actually disagreed with the plan. It would be because John would be gone for a while, and recently those two had been starting to spend a lot of time with each other again following her injury, albeit not yet romantically. Word had reached Diana that Wally had bet Elongated Man that the two would actually get together again soon, despite Vixen firmly keeping her foot in the metaphorical door.

"Then it sounds as if that issue is settled already," Superman finished things off, sounding authoritative. "Unless there are any final objections, we have our course of action." He paused, looking around the room, giving everyone the chance to improve the plan should they wish to. No one did. Diana did not need to look too to know why. It had been obvious from the moment everyone had entered the room what they were really wanting to talk about, and no one seemed to want to delay that part of the conversation any longer.

Well, everyone except Diana. She just wanted to go and talk _to _him, not stay up here and talk _about_ him.

"All right then," Shayera jumped in, sounding stern. "So, who's first in line to beat the crap out of Batman? I know I'm still throwing my name in the ring."

"We need answers, Shayera, not revenge," John said directly to her, sounding almost like he was scolding her. "I know Batman hasn't explained why he didn't trust us yet, but I still say we need to give him the chance to."

"I don't _need _revenge, John," Shayera countered firmly. "But after what he did, I think we need to do more than just sit around and wait for him to come back to us. Batman's not exactly the type to say sorry. And as far as I'm concerned, this report _was _his chance for apologies."

Diana didn't mention that Bruce had apologised to her, back in that warehouse that was still the issue on everyone's mind. It kept her from speaking up, remembering that. Luckily she wasn't the only one planning on breaking up the brewing quarrel.

"No, but he's still our Bats," Flash retorted. Days ago he had been in the anti-Batman camp at this table. It seemed time had helped him to see differently. "My nose still feels funny, but come on! We need Bats around here. Where'd we have been against that Kaah bloke without him? Heck, he's so good he'd make even Ace Rimmer look bad..."

"No one here's doubting Batman's importance to us, his usefulness," Superman stepped in now. "Over the years he's proved that time and time again. What we're here to talk about is the question of trust. Until a week ago I knew I could trust Batman implicitly, perhaps even more than I trusted myself. He's my friend, and I suspect he always will be. But the Justice League is built upon trust. If we can't trust one another, then we can't function as a team, and if we can't function as a team, there's no point to the Justice League. Batman didn't explain in his report why he failed to trust us to the extent that he saw assaulting us as his only option for going against Kaah alone. That's the issue here more than his methods of keeping this a solo mission. We need to decide if we can ever trust him to fight _with _us again, if we can trust him to have our backs when we need him to, if we can trust him to be a part of the team. If we can't, then we might have to dismiss Batman from the Justice League."

Diana could tell Superman found it hard to say those words. Batman and Superman had been the original pair-up that had begun the Justice League years ago. There was no man that Kal trusted more than Bruce, not until a week ago, no man he respected more either. For him to now suggest the League essentially _fired _Batman said for itself how betrayed Kal was feeling right now, particularly without any answers from Bruce to remove that feeling of betrayal.

In a way, she was feeling exactly the same way herself. She certainly wanted to know why Batman had failed to trust her, at the start and at the end of his latest endeavour. Her anger with him had once again subsided with time, but then she thought she knew why he had acted as he had. That was something Kal couldn't share in. He couldn't know yet, not even to help sort out his own feelings about the situation with Bruce. Superman and Batman were close, yes, but he was apparently one of only two around this table who _didn't _have suspicions about the closeness of Bruce and Diana. Therefore, he was one of two who couldn't possibly have guessed what Diana had. Those who knew Batman knew that he was paranoid. What if it hadn't been a lack of trust, but a need to protect those he cared about, an even greater need than the report had suggested? And what if that meant her? Regardless of the fact that she certainly didn't feel like she needed protecting, Diana dearly hoped that was the reason. She saw J'onn almost silently nod agreement with her train of thoughts before the Martian spoke.

"As we discussed last time, however, I feel that that is an issue we cannot fairly contemplate until we have heard from Batman himself. Directly, not just in a written form like this. Until we have actually made direct contact with him and asked him the questions verbally, we should not presume to know the answers. We should not act rashly."

"Yeah," Flash agreed. "Without Bats around, I get the feeling that things won't be half as fun around here. Not since he was always so ready to do all the dull jobs, even if he hardly added to the laughs. Besides, crazy as it sounds, I think I'd miss his sparkling personality."

"And I think I made my opinion clear enough last time," Green Lantern chipped in. "Batman doesn't play by anyone else's book. And he's stubborn to boot. We should just give him a bit more time. He'll come back to us. He knows there's still plenty of good he can do for the League, and if there's anything about him that we can be sure about its that he'll always fight for good. He'll come back to us soon as part of his own mission, if not for some other reason."

John's eyes seemed to start to linger on Diana as he finished off that last sentence. Diana quickly spoke up to avoid anyone else getting suspicions about her and Bruce. It still couldn't be public, not until she had talked to him and found out whether there could really be a _her and Bruce_.

"I agree that Batman will likely want time," she said, figuring out where she was going with this as she spoke. "I also think we'd be foolish to act based purely on speculation regarding him. Answers are definitely needed. But he just might be stubborn enough that we have to go looking for them. Waiting for him to offer them might take a _long _time. Even if he comes back, I suspect he'll keep his true feelings and reasons private, unless we give him no choice. It's just not in his nature to be open about this sort of thing."

"No, it'd be far too normal," Shayera quipped, a slightly pained look on her face as she leant forwards slightly. "I agree with Superman. If we can't trust him any more, he needs to go, at least until things change. _I_ did. I still say we should head down to Gotham and force him to talk. Right now. So we know where we stand and can move on with things."

"How about a compromise?" John played the part of the impartial adjudicator. "We give him a couple more days, then we go pay him a house call. We know from reports that he's back operating in Gotham as normal, even if he's staying away from the Justice League."

"Sounds good to me," Flash nodded. "But knowing Bats he's not exactly likely to just open the doors for us and welcome us in. He doesn't even like us in his city when we know that he's a team player. He might end up going bat-shit crazy at us again. More so than normal, I mean."

"It would indeed be best if we don't approach him en masse making demands," J'onn took over. "We should send a lone member of the League to talk to him. We should not turn this into what might appear to him as a trial so as to avoid a negative reaction from him. Keep this as an issue of concern instead of one of imposing guilt."

"Sounds like something Batman might be more responsive too," Diana mused, nodding. Ideas had begun forming in her head. J'onn had probably made his suggestion deliberately to put them there. Diana had to fight off the smile at that thought, and in doing so, she was just slow enough in volunteering to be that lone member of the League to allow Flash to speak up again.

"Then it sounds like you're off to Gotham, Big Boy Blue. That's what he said to you before he disappeared again, wasn't it? _Not now... You know where I'll be... _I bet Bats saw this coming and is waiting for you down there right now. You are meant to know him better than the rest of us. He might be less likely to just whack _you_ again."

Wonder Woman felt Shayera's eyes look to her as Flash said that, knowing her detective's mind had probably cottoned on to what J'onn had been meaning, especially since J'onn had told her before that Shayera had guessed about her feelings for Bruce. Green Lantern, despite having also guessed it according to J'onn, was slower on the uptake.

"He did use up his Kryptonite in that warehouse. I doubt he's found some more already. I agree. Superman should go."

The plan J'onn had set in motion was still forming in Diana's mind. She was not about to give up on it yet, not by a long shot. It was a plan to help her and Batman both. Yet she had learned the value of having a contingency plan well from Bruce. Now was the time to put one in place. Superman could be her contingency plan. If what Diana had in mind didn't work, then at least Kal would be able to try and help Bruce still. All this really meant was that she had to act quickly, and she was fine with that. She was _more_ than fine with that.

"You can get through to him in a way the rest of us can't, Kal," she said, Shayera momentarily showing a look of surprise before battening it down. "It should be you who talks to him about the League, if he hasn't come back to us in time. The brotherhood between you two cannot be denied. It should help."

"Okay, then, I'll go if and when two days have passed without Batman coming to us first," Superman said with a nod, bringing the issue to a close.

Diana didn't really listen to what Superman said after that. Soon the meeting was dismissed and everyone went off their separate ways. As soon as the meeting ended Green Lantern indeed set off for Oa to put the word out about the possible dangers of a prime dimension Ovada Kaah and his army, meaning that Diana took over in helping J'onn to assist Shayera back to the infirmary, at least as much as the Thanagarian would allow. Shayera certainly seemed less willing to be held up as she walked when it wasn't John Stewart's hands on her.

Diana could only begin to think about how Shayera was feeling. It was different to her own situation, despite both revolving around the men each was in love with. For one thing, Shayera had experience in the issue of loving a man. For another, John knew that Shayera loved her, and Shayera knew that he loved her back, even if John loved Vixen too.

Bruce didn't know about how Diana felt. Well, that probably wasn't true. If others could notice it, of course Bruce could have. But she hadn't _told _him yet. It wasn't open, official. And, despite her guesses, she didn't know for sure how he felt either.

And that was why she decided that she wouldn't be waiting two days for Bruce to come back to them like Superman would be doing. She wouldn't wait for the Justice League to act. She would pay him a visit personally, not just as a League representative, and she would finally get _her _answers.

Tonight.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_As you may have just guessed, the reunion scene I've been teasing you with ever since Chapter 2 is finally about to arrive. I say "about to", it's the next chapter to come, probably in about a week. _

_As usual, reviews/follows/favourites are all very welcome. Not only do they make me glad, but they show the world (or at least the parts that are looking) the incredible love that BMWW still has, despite DCs best efforts._

_Speaking of which, LloydRPG has brought to my attention a petition going around to try and catch DC and Warner Brother's eye regarding the upcoming movies, wanting those folks to one day bring the superior Batman/Wonder Woman dynamic into them. I've been asked to advertise it (since I obviously agree with that notion, given I've been writing all this) so get over to "**put-batman-and-wonder-woman-together**" on the gopetition site if you want to sign up. As hyperlinks aren't allowed here, just google what's in bold, you'll find it easy enough._

_Anyway, that's me done. See you in a week or so for a rather important chapter._


	21. Chapter 20: Q & A

**Chapter 20: Q & A**

Gotham was pretty much exactly as he had left it. The city still seemed to be relatively quiet on the crime front, despite his time away from it. Anyone else might have found that to be a good thing. With Batman, it just made him suspicious about what might be coming around the corner. Gotham was never this quiet without some scum at least _planning _something.

At least the quiet meant that Batman could make up for his absence. He had tasks to finish off from before he had encountered Deadshot and had other subsequent places to be, and he ensured that he had those tasks finished off now. The murder that Batman had been working on before J'onn had sent them after the Death Row gang was now firmly dealt with, the man responsible arrested by the GCPD as soon as Detective Bullock had suddenly found him bound and confessing his guts out at the front door to the precinct while on a run for more doughnuts. Batman also had to pay Gordon a visit, to ensure that Uriah Kincaid was freed and all charges against him were dropped. He knew the Justice League would likely have arrested Kincaid for his possession of a cross-dimensional device following Batman's departure to the other Earth. He also knew that Kincaid was a good man and undeserving of such a fate, particularly because of his own role in the device's construction, and had seen to it that he no longer suffered it.

The main up side of the quiet, however, was that minimising the fighting was allowing Batman's body a chance to heal. Alfred had patched him up well, but battered bones and organs took longer than just a few days to recover. Still, Batman had insisted on resuming his patrol, even refusing to let Robin and Batgirl out with him and sending Nightwing back to Bludhaven. After the last few days, Batman was in no mood to allow risks to anyone else he cared about even if things were quiet, not after how close things had been.

He had stayed out until the early hours as per the norm, just in case a plethora of crime was simply running late tonight. It hadn't been, leaving him ultimately nothing to do but return to the Batcave. The Batmobile sped into the cave down its hidden entrance tunnel, Batman already knowing that his evening wasn't done yet. He had received the warnings from the Batcomputer that one of the Justice League had teleported into the cave hours ago. Knowing that the League had plenty to want to talk to him about, he had allowed it, especially as whoever it was seemed to be staying put in there. But this would definitely be for one night only. Gotham was _his _city.

Batman knew there were only two realistic possibilities as to who that person was. When the Batmobile parked up at last, he immediately saw which one of the two it was. The smile erupted on his face before he could stop it in the presence of the one person who could really make him lose control of his stoicism. He had to fight his usual firm look back onto his face before he stepped out of the Batmobile to truly see her.

"Don't you ever sleep, Bruce?" Wonder Woman asked as she stood up from the seat at the Batcomputer. She hadn't been using the device, but she looked tired, as if she had been here for a while and had taken to the seat upon waiting for him for so long. Despite all that she knew about how he worked beyond his Justice League duties, this was the first time she had been here to see it first-hand from his city.

That was all she said at first. She was clearly trying to set the mood, to keep things calm and civilised so as best to get him to talk. Little did she know that simply her presence nearly always had that effect on him.

"Not when I'm needed, Princess," Batman answered simply, walking over to her, still giving nothing away. His heart was screaming at him to start telling her everything now, his paranoid mind equally telling him that he had to hold back. The internal battle was raging, and he knew that the war that had been fought ever since the formation of the Justice League would be won one way or the other tonight. It had to be after what had happened in recent days. He wouldn't be able to trust himself to be involved with the League any more if it wasn't.

"Hera, Bruce, you're a mess!"

Now that he was getting closer to her she could properly see the wounds still healing on him from Kaah's assault. Some of them anyway. Just a few in fact. So many were hidden beneath his armour that she had no idea how beat up he really was, nor how beat up he really _felt_ ever since he knew for sure that she was safe. Diana, of course, seemed to have healed completely, not even a scar showing now from where the knife had dug deep into her.

"I've had worse," Batman tried to shrug off her concern. "And so have you."

Wonder Woman seemed to have to resist asking a particular question following his not so subtle reply, instead favouring another she clearly felt was more important to get asked first. "How are you feeling, Bruce? Really? And this time I don't mean physically. Kal told me what you almost did against the alien Kaah. And I saw for myself what you did to Deadshot. Did you... _Are you_ back in control?"

Batman had a feeling that he knew what the unasked questions were, but due to his internal battle between heart and mind he stuck to the ones she had actually voiced.

"I'm recovering. I'm working on ensuring that it never happens again, that I never again get that close to the brink," he answered, not giving anything away. He then found himself asking a question important to both the moment _and _that internal battle. "Did the League send you, or are you here of your own accord?"

"In a way, both," Wonder Woman answered simply, sounding disappointed at how he had so quickly changed the subject.

They were virtually within touching distance when Batman stopped before her. He looked into her amazing blue eyes, trying to read her, but right now, for once, his analytical mind wasn't working too well. Only Diana could really do this to him. He had to resolve that. Now.

"The Justice League _do _want to talk to you, Bruce," Wonder Woman went on. "There's a lot of gaps missing in your report about what happened over the last few days that we need filling in. We had a Founder's meeting earlier today. The others were actually talking about excluding you from the League if you can't remedy certain... _doubts_. The plan was to give you two days to come to the Watchtower and talk to us, and if you didn't then Superman was going to come here to confront you about the whole thing. I decided I couldn't wait two days. I needed to see you, Bruce. I need to sort this all out right now, for both of us."

"And what exactly are these gaps?" Batman enquired, purposefully dodging that last part of what she had said. He was already getting the distinct impression that Wonder Woman had an ulterior motive here, that what she needed sorting was not only League business. Or maybe he was just hoping. "And why the rush? Princess, why are you here if the Founder's have already made that decision?"

"You of all people shouldn't be judging me for acting without the other Founder's knowledge, Bruce," Wonder Woman said sharply at him, her fighting spirit coming through at what she had clearly deemed to be him hypocritically judging her. "You've proved it often enough, so don't be talking to me like I'm in the wrong. I'm here because I need to know why, Bruce. I'm here because I couldn't wait the two days. After what you did in that warehouse in Gotham, and in how you still didn't talk to us when you came back to fight Kaah, the whole Justice League feels like they don't know if they can trust you any more. I know how important you are to the League, Bruce, to the people of this world. I came here to help make sure you remained with us. I came here because I know Superman feels betrayed by what you did to him, and I didn't want those emotions to get in the way when you inevitably forced him to come to face you. I'm here to get the answers that the League needs, so that it doesn't lose you. After what happened with Shayera I learned the importance of not reacting rashly against one of our own. I don't want to see that happen again."

Batman took a moment to answer. He knew the true reason to all that he'd done. He knew what the truth was. But the internal battle was still keeping her from saying _those_ words. Yet he couldn't lie to her either. Instead he found a way to tell the truth in its least explanatory form.

"I did what I did because I had to work alone. For the safety of the Justice League, I couldn't allow anyone else to go up against Kaah alongside me. I knew that he would be able to remove powers from metas, so I knew none could face him without being significantly at risk. And that included you, Princess. I trust the Justice League, but I couldn't allow you, Superman or anyone else to help me. Not on this."

Diana, however, was shaking her head, starting to look fed up. "I'm not buying it, Bruce. There's more to it than that. If you were trying to protect the League you'd have found some way to warn us all to stay away. You wouldn't have attacked Kal and the rest in that warehouse. You'd have used help from the League's non-powered members like Green Arrow when fighting Kaah. You wouldn't have cut everyone off quite as you did. Not even you would do that without more of a reason. There's more to it than what you say. You forget that I know you, Bruce. I know when you're keeping things from me. I don't normally need to make you tell me those things. Normally I can understand your need to keep things to yourself; its a part of who you are, and I don't normally need you to change that. Right now, though, things are different. This time you can't keep it to yourself. I need to know."

"Are you going to use that lasso on me, Princess?" Batman asked at that, in an uncharacteristic flash of light-heartedness. Again, it was brought out simply because of her. Her ongoing stare, though, was worthy of one of his own glares. So much so that it made him give her her answer, his serious tone very much back, his quip left forgotten. "Yes, Diana, there was something else. It wasn't just about protecting the Justice League. Ovada Kaah wasn't simply intent on destroying all versions of the Earth to avenge his lost wife. He was also desperate to kill all versions of you. It was Wonder Woman that killed his wife in his own dimension, not the Justice League as a whole, and he was intent on avenging her against you. _All _versions of you. I had to go alone in the manner I did for more than to protect the overall Justice League. It was to protect you."

Diana seemed completely taken aback by that, but at the same time not at all surprised. It was an odd look to see on someone's face, a visible paradox. Yet on Diana it still looked beautiful.

"Bruce–" she began to say, but Batman felt like he was on a roll now. He couldn't stop just yet and allow his paranoia to block him from even saying this much. He had to tell her.

"I don't regret doing any of what I did," he told her, his voice suddenly a lot less Batman and a lot more Bruce. "I had to keep _you_ from Kaah and his army as much as I could, to keep you out of harms way, and keeping you in the dark was the best way to do that. I knew the rest of the League wouldn't understand that I had to keep you out of it. They wouldn't have been able to keep the threat from you, not with it being all _about_ you. If I had told any of them, even just one, then one way or the other they would have told you. I couldn't let that happen. I knew you would insist on going with me to face the threat, to risk your life out there to protect our Earth here. I knew that what I faced on the other side was going to be deadly, even for you – _especially_ for you. I couldn't let you take that risk. So I had to stop the League from reaching me before I could cross dimensions once you managed to track me down. I had to stop them from holding me back, from delaying me and bringing you into it. Any way that I could. Just like I had to keep you from trying to fight Kaah at the end. Even if you could have beaten him, I just couldn't take the chance that you'd get hurt. You can tell Clark and the rest that I'm sorry for what I had to do to them in Gotham. You can tell them that I _do _still trust the Justice League, that I intend to remain a part of it, but I don't regret anything. And I'd do it all again if I had to."

She just stared at him for a long moment, as if needing it to process what she was hearing. Batman gave her that time. That internal struggle was still stopping him from saying those three simple words that would explain everything.

"That may be, Bruce," Diana said at last as she found her voice again. From her tone, Batman could tell things were about to get more direct, more personal. "That may be enough for you to convince Kal and the others. They may not like it, they may not understand it, but since its you they'll probably accept it. But I need to know more. It wasn't any of the other members of the League who you took out of play in the midst of that final battle, after Kaah was already attacking us. I know you say you were protecting me, but Bruce, you should know by now that I can look after myself, even without my powers after all those times we've sparred without me using them. I need to know... After how you kept all of this from me, after how you kept me from fighting Kaah, after how you subdued me at the end, I need to know if you trust _me_. Not just me as a part of the League, _me_. Do you, Bruce? Do you trust me?"

"Princess, you shouldn't need to ask that question. You should more than know the answer to that." The words were out of him before he had thought about them. He had no need to. He trusted her unlike anyone he had ever met. It was remarkable, but he had trusted her from virtually the first moment he had seen her. None of his other allies, not even Robin, Nightwing or Superman, could share in that honour.

"Then why, Bruce?" Diana was virtually pleading now. It was very unlike her. This was definitely _personal_. After years of skirting on the edge of this, this would be the moment when they _both _tackled it head on. Batman very definitely had the feeling that he wasn't the only one who had come to realise that now was the time for them to decide exactly what was happening between them. "Tell me why. Why didn't you tell me about all this when Deadshot told you? Why didn't you at least tell me what was going on, where you were going? Why didn't you let me help you? Why didn't you at least try to explain more that you _couldn't _let me help you, even if you couldn't say what you were doing? Why didn't you let me fight once I was already in the field of battle? Tell me why, Bruce. You're answers so far might mean you and the League can trust each other again, but I need to know if _I _have your trust. I need to know, or whatever it is we have, any friendship or bond, will be over. We'll just be colleagues, nothing more. One way or the other, Bruce. I have to hear you say it."

Batman was slow to answer again. That internal battle was still holding him back, and he knew that now those words were the only way to keep her in his life. This was the make or break moment. He had to either let her in, or let her go. Now even a large part of his mind was agreeing with his heart, but there was just enough still consumed with fearful paranoia that meant that he couldn't speak. He could only stare down at her, at her perfect face and her perfect eyes... However, it soon seemed that he had been hesitated too long.

"So that's how it is," Diana muttered after his ongoing silence. She sounded almost distraught, more so than he had ever heard her before or ever thought he would hear her. It was almost like her heart was breaking. She turned, heading for the tunnels from the Batcave to the outside world, clearly not wanting to face _anyone _right now. However, mere fractions before she could take off and into the night beyond, the internal battle was won. Now the choice was forced on him, he just couldn't let her go. He couldn't let this end. Not even the Batman could forget his emotions enough to hold back any more. He had to tell her.

"Wait."

That word alone was enough to stop Diana from flying away. She turned back to look at him, though it was clearly hard for her. He saw that there were tears in her eyes. She said nothing, simply staring at him while waiting for him to talk. It was still hard for him to say the words. Batman had fought many battles. He had faced many dangers, many threats, but nothing scared him as much as this did. Yet at the look in Diana's eyes he knew he had to do it. He couldn't let her hurt like this. He couldn't let himself hurt like he would otherwise. Realising that his best chance was to do this beyond the emotionless, analytical Bat, Bruce threw back the cowl to let her have a good look back at his own eyes, and the long buried passion burning behind them.

"Princess," Bruce began slowly, voice soft and almost breaking down. "I couldn't take the risk of Kaah killing you like he had all of those other versions of you. He had recordings from the other dimensions that he had attacked, all of them showing those versions of you dying. I saw them. I watched a _lot _of them, and every single time I saw you die it tore me apart inside, like nothing has since I was eight years old. I couldn't let that happen to you as it had all those alternate versions of you. This was a man who had proven he could kill people virtually identical to you in every way. No matter how much faith I have in you, in what you can do, I couldn't risk your life on faith alone. Not this time, not against someone who had proven he was actually capable of killing you. After he stabbed you, I knew I had to do whatever I could to protect you. I couldn't lose you. I trust you more than anyone else alive, but I needed to _keep_ you alive, and doing what I did was the only way I could be absolutely sure. Faith just isn't in my nature, especially since I lost my parents. But if I had such faith in _anyone_, it would be in you."

He broke off for a moment, but it was a very brief moment. He had a lot more to say, and he knew that he had to get through it all now that he had begun or he might not be able to start the words again. Diana's eyes were still full of tears, but she continued listening on, holding her ground and not flying away.

"There's been a lot of chances for me to look for happiness, Princess. To leave behind my life of darkness, or at least let a little light in there too. Andrea, Selina, Talia, even Lois, and several others on top of that. I could have made a serious go at happiness with any of them. But I always held back. I'd made a vow, Princess. A vow I can't ever break. After that night all those years ago, I _am _Batman. I can't stop being, not for anyone. I have to make sure that Gotham is safe, that no other eight year old kid winds up alone and afraid. To do that, I have to be Batman. I have to use my anger, my rage. I have to be vengeance and the night. I couldn't _afford _to be happy. I couldn't let the Bat go. If I did, Gotham would suffer.

"And that's not even mentioning the other reasons why I couldn't let anyone else in. The ones I told you before, and more on top of them. I couldn't risk truly loving someone. That way I could be sure they wouldn't be hurt – or worse – because of me, because of one of my enemy's targeting her to hurt me. I can't lose someone else, Princess, not after my childhood. I've spent my entire adult life on the edge. It would be so easy for me to fall onto the wrong side, so easy for me to become what I despise. If I lost someone else, I don't know if I'd be able to hold back until I had killed the one responsible, and once _that _line was crossed, I doubt I'd ever make it back. I could so easily become a murderer if I lost someone special. Hence I couldn't _have _anyone special.

"But then I met you, Princess. I saw it almost immediately, I just tried hard to ignore it, to fight it. You're perfect, Diana. You're exactly what this world needs. You're the symbol of hope, the idyll for a better tomorrow, the antithesis for the Batman that's a reminder of a darker today. You're a warrior in its truest sense, but you're also a paradox in how you so yearn for peace. You're the symbol of the world that _I _want to see, the world I've yearned for all of these years, the world I've fought so hard for. You're a true friend, a caring woman who will do anything for those close to her, and even for people that you've never met. And you're incorruptible. After spending these years in 'Man's World', you've kept hold of what made you that innocent Princess from a island paradise. After all that you've seen since coming here, you haven't turned into... Well, _me_. And on top of all that, you're beautiful to boot. Diana, you are absolutely perfect, and that scared me more than anything, because I knew what it would mean for me, especially as you and I began spending so much time together.

"I can't lie to myself, Princess, no matter how much I hide it from everyone else, you included. There are times it comes to the surface, despite my efforts to bury it down. For the reasons I just gave you, I didn't want it to be true. I kept repeating those reasons to myself endlessly, I kept looking for ways to avoid talking to you about them, which was near impossible as I could see that doing so was starting to hurt you. But none of it ultimately worked. All those other women in my life... I was always able to move on, to get them off my mind. Not to stop caring completely, but enough. You... I _can't_ get you off my mind, not even for a second. Diana, you're in my head, and nothing I can do can prevent that any more. Nothing I can do can get you out of there. What I almost did to Kaah, to Westwood, what I did to Deadshot, it all proves that. I just have to accept it now. I have to learn how to cope with it. I have to master new forms of self control, so that I can keep going without breaking down into a monster if anything happened to you. I have to learn how to still do what I do and be happy all at the same time. And most of all, I have to teach myself how to handle simply letting you in. I know that now.

"Princess," Bruce said the nickname he had for her softly, ready to finally say words that he had resisted saying to her for so long. For far _too _long. "I can't hide it any more, not after what's just happened, not after almost losing you for good, just now and to Kaah...

"I love you, Diana. I have always loved you. And I always will."

* * *

"You do?"

The words almost burst out of Diana once Bruce had finished. He was instantly nodding back at her, seemingly unable to say any more. Hera, that left no doubts about it. He loved her. _Bruce loved her_. And he had actually admitted it. A kind of joy Diana had never felt before suddenly washed over her. It was a pure ecstasy, a state that until that moment she had never even knew existed. She had to fight to keep her knees from buckling and the tears erupting because of it. She definitely had to fight the impulse to fly straight over to him and kiss him, deeply. All anger was certainly gone, well forgotten in the moment.

"I love you too," she breathed, so softly she was relieved Bruce actually heard her. "I have done for a long time, I think, but I only realised it a few days ago. J'onn showed me the truth of my feelings when I... struggled to cope when you were gone. I didn't really know what love was until then, not of this kind anyway. Its not exactly common place among Amazons these days. But I _love _you Bruce. I really, _really_ do."

"I'm not exactly an expert myself, Princess," Bruce shrugged it off, but something Diana had very rarely seen was happening. A massive smile was spreading on his face, and not just the playboy smirk. He actually looked truly _happy_. Seeing that meant she couldn't hold back a similar grin of her own any longer.

"Then I guess we can find out how it works together," she said through it, finding she had to repeat the words again. Now that she knew he felt the same way, that they had _both _felt that way for so long, Diana felt there was a lot of lost time to be making up for. "Because I _love _you Bruce Wayne. Bat and all."

"Then you really are the most perfect, caring woman on the planet," he grinned again. After what Bruce had just said, Diana knew why. "No one else could love one and be able to handle the other."

"If anyone got to see the real you like I do, the you that's both the man behind Gotham's playboy prince and the man behind the Bat, then every woman should," Diana told him. "But I'm glad they don't. I'm glad you're mine, _all_ of you. There's only one thing that I'd need you to change."

"Oh? What's that?" Bruce asked with an eyebrow raised, but there was no worry in his voice. Her ongoing smile saw to that.

"No more of this over-protectiveness, Bruce. No more secrets. You _tell _me next time something comes up. Let me in, Bruce, truly let me in, and then I'm all yours. Forever."

If it was possible, Bruce's smile broadened. He knew exactly how much the word _forever _meant regarding someone who never aged. "It's a deal, Princess. For you. It'll take time for me to change, but anything for you... What did I ever do to deserve you? No man on this Earth is worthy of someone as wonderful as you, least of all me."

Diana shook her head with a snort of laughter. "You do yourself a disservice, Bruce. After all you do for so many needy people, after all that you sacrifice and risk everyday in the process, after how much you secretly _care_, no one is _more _deserving than you. After all, you took on an entire army for me and won. What more could a warrior Princess want in a man?"

"People will never believe this, you know," Bruce said, almost absent mindedly, brushing off her last comment as if he still couldn't believe this was happening to him. "What we do... We're on opposite sides of the spectrum, the dark and the light."

"And yet we're also so similar in the ways that really matter," Diana pointed out dismissively. This talking was wonderful, but she knew that there was still a question that she had to ask him. She might have wanted the moment to last forever, but she knew that it wouldn't, and she knew that she had to do what she could now for their future, for Bruce. "Bruce, I have to ask now before I get so caught up in this moment that I forget to do so. When will you come back to us, to me and to the Justice League? When are you going to stop hiding down here, so things can go back to how they were? ...And more."

"It won't be for a while," he answered after a moment's silence, shaking his head slowly and sounding immediately regretful. Diana could instantly tell why. This moment would be their last together for some time. "I'll be back one day, I promise you that. One day we can be together. But it can't be today. I'm sorry Princess, but I still need time. I almost lost it against Kaah, against Westwood and Deadshot. I almost killed them for what they so nearly did to you. I was far too close to the brink to just cast that off. I need time to come to terms with it, to train myself so that it won't happen again, so that I can cope with the risks I know you have to take and still be with you. When I'm ready I'll be back, but until then I have to distance myself from the League... from you. I'll contact Clark, explain _certain _things. Some can wait until I come back and we can sort things out between us fully, but I'll make sure he can accept why I did what I did. But I have to stay away until I'm ready. I swear though, on my parents' good name, that when I _am_ ready, I won't shut myself off from you any longer. When the day comes Diana, I'll be yours, completely and utterly, whether you still want me or not. There'll be plenty left to figure out, to _sort out_, but I will be yours, for as long as I live... and beyond."

Diana could no longer hold back. She marched herself over to him, resisting flying over and literally sweeping him off his feet, but she still took him in her arms. Bruce held her right back, both of them staring deep into each others eyes.

"Bruce, I've lived this long without loving anyone like I do you now. I can wait all eternity for you if I have to, no matter how very, _very _hard that would be. Just remember, Bruce, that _you _can't wait forever. I'll wait, and I'll keep this to myself until we're both ready to go further, but just don't take too long. We might have a lot of figuring out to do to make this actually work, but we have a lot of living to do too. Because I love you, Bruce. Don't forget that for one moment while you're away."

"That'd be impossible, Princess," Bruce returned. "You're going to be on my mind more than you ever were before now. I may have tried to avoid it for so long, but there's no going back now, no more use in even trying to hide it. And don't worry, I'll be back as soon as I can. For you. Because I love you too. Don't _you _forget that."

Diana really couldn't hold back now. She kissed him, a kiss full of deep, intense passion.

And he kissed her back.

It was so much more than their kiss while hiding from the Thanagarians had been. It meant so much more. Knowing how each other felt made it so, and this Diana _really _didn't want to end. Eventually she forced herself to pull away from him, but she certainly didn't do so quickly. The urges were strong to simply kiss him again after that, to kiss him again and to then do so much more. They were urges she had never experienced before and knew that she never would for any other man than this one, and that just made them all the more difficult to resist.

But she was determined to hold back. From the look on Bruce's face she knew he was experiencing similar urges for her. Well, he would just have to wait. Keeping _that _at bay for now was her way of making sure that he came back to her as soon as he could.

And so she began to step away, slowly and without taking her eyes off of him for even a second. His own remained closed for a good few seconds after the kiss ended, but he too did not turn away. Eventually his eyes crept open, the look of pleasure seemingly permanent on his face now. Diana smiled at him for a long moment after that, but she knew that now was the time to leave. She really didn't want to, but the thought of just how _good _things would one day be if she gave Bruce the time he needed was enough to make her know that it was the right thing to do.

"See you soon, Batman," Diana said to Bruce, still not looking away from him with a smile plastered across her face, and then she put her hand up to her ear and the comm-link within. "Wonder Woman to Watchtower. Requesting to teleport back up."

* * *

He watched as in a flash of light she was gone. It was hard to watch her go, but he knew that he had to. For now, anyway. And of course, unlike every time before, this time she would be his when he returned to her and the League. He had watched her beam away, but he hadn't let her go in the way that really mattered.

He had finally said the words. But more importantly, so had she.

Bruce pulled the cowl back in place as he moved over to complete the logs on the Batcomputer – for the part of his nights work he could actually still remember after what had just happened, at least – and to make contact with Superman when he was done. He had to sort things out and lay the groundwork for him to be able to return to the League on the day when he was ready. After those last minutes, he also had to make sure his friend knew that Batman had not betrayed him. While still on the high of what had just happened, Batman knew he had to keep hold of his good friend too. While the high lasted, even Batman could not deny the importance of friendship, not after having finally allowed himself so much more with Diana.

But the smile didn't leave his face as he got to work. He dearly hoped that the training he needed would not take too long. With every fibre of his being he hoped that. He would stick by it for however long it would take, but he could still hope, for now every second that he spent away from her was one where he didn't feel complete. Her title was well and truly deserved. She really was a wonderful woman. What was more, as he sat there working, Bruce admitted another truth to himself.

For the first time in _many_ years, Bruce Wayne was genuinely happy. The criminals of Gotham might never get to see it, nor any enemies of the world. They would still only get to see the anger, the rage. He wouldn't allow it to be otherwise. His mission was far from done.

But now a new emotion filled him. Just like with the man he really was, the one who wasn't just the playboy nor just the vigilante, very few would get to see it, but it was undeniable. He was _happy_.

And it was all because of Diana.

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_**There it is. This was the scene that the whole damn thing has been about. In fact, it was the first scene in the entire story that I got sorted in my head, and a key part of it was written before most of the rest of the story. The rest I got by working backwards and thinking about what it would take to get those two to this place. That lot was merely the necessary stepping stones. Fun ones to write (and hopefully read), but this chapter is **_**everything**_** to this story. Batman's battle with himself here is the real main fight. Ovada Kaah was just the sideshow.**_

_**Anyways, just one chapter, a quick little epilogue, left to go. It may just happen to contain some details about my plans for what happens next...**_

_**Before that though, if you could review/follow/favourite some more it would be just awesome. And don't forget to also check out the petition I mentioned last chapter if you haven't done already!**_


	22. Epilogue: The Best is Yet to Come

**Epilogue: The Best is Yet to Come**

Shayera was back in her bed in the infirmary. The surgery on her wing was scheduled for tomorrow and J'onn was making sure that she was prepped and ready for it before heading back to his wife. Shayera deeply wished that GL could be with her too. She knew that what he was doing was important in helping to protect the Earth, but that didn't mean she couldn't be selfish too, especially since it had started to almost seem like she was winning him over to them actually being together again. It was the only positive thing about her getting shot and injured as she had been.

And that was likely another reason why John Stewart had felt the need to leave her alone right now. He really seemed to not know what - or more accurately _who -_ he wanted; Shayera or Vixen. Getting away from both of them for the time being could well be his means of trying to figure it out before he did something he might regret. Damn him. He should be here. Right then Shayera didn't care what John Stewart needed. She was the one who had been shot. She was the one needing surgery. No matter how much she tried to play it all off as nothing, she still had the right to want him here, at her side.

But Shayera wasn't so selfish that she didn't notice what was currently happening between her other friends. She knew that Diana would be with Batman right now, confronting him about more than just what had happened over Ovada Kaah. After what he had done, Shayera was tough on Batman. She began to question how a woman like Diana could ever have feelings for a man like him. Then she remembered all the good side of the Bat, all the things she had realised days ago in the commissary watching the two of them.

And she remembered when she had been in a position similar to that Batman was in now. It was then that she realised that maybe she had been a little quick to judge, and a little quick to be angry with him. It was probably because of the issue with the future son she still knew nothing about as much as it was because of what Batman had done to her. Shayera still greatly desired to hear more about the child she was yet to have, the child _she and GL _were yet to have, but there was no getting it out of Batman. All she ever got was a talk about how knowing the future could pollute the time stream and change it. Shayera didn't care to listen to any of that whenever she heard it. She just wanted to know about the child. Still, when in the right mood she could see that in his own way Batman _was _trying to help her with that.

Just as he had apparently been helping them all back in that Warehouse. In his own, thankfully unique, way...

Perhaps Diana really did know what she was doing. Shayera certainly hoped so. If Batman did something to hurt her down there then, surgery or not, Shayera would get herself down to Gotham and _really_ teach him a lesson.

In that moment, she knew that she was not the only one thinking about those two. Of course J'onn would know about them too. Out of respect for their privacy he might never divulge what he learned from his friends thanks to his telepathy, but Shayera knew that the Martian would know all about the feelings silently flowing between those two. She also knew that he had more than enough compassion in his soul to be thinking of them now, when the moment was really theirs, just like she was doing.

More, from the way J'onn suddenly paused while checking over her, his eyes glowing, Shayera could tell that he was listening in on them too.

Shayera forced herself to stay quiet for as long as J'onn was still. She wanted to burst out with questions. She wanted to know every little detail that he was detecting from his distant and no doubt subtle touch on at least one of their minds. However, she also didn't want to break his concentration, to cause him to miss something or to somehow accidentally interrupt what was no doubt a very delicate conversation. When J'onn's eyes returned to normal, she couldn't hold back any longer.

"Well?" she asked everything she wanted to in just a single word. It would be clear even to a deafblind fool that she knew what J'onn had been doing and wanted to hear all about it. To a highly intelligent telepath even that one word was likely wasteful.

J'onn smiled back at her, telling her instantly that it was good news, and bringing a smile to her face despite the ongoing throbbing pains coming from her wing.

"All is good," J'onn simply said. "They're both very happy."

Shayera knew exactly what J'onn meant by that. They had both admitted it. At long last, they had both admitted it. And they had both accepted it. No doubt there would be creases to smooth out, perhaps it might even take a while to be officially official, but it had happened. It was now Batman _and_ Wonder Woman. It sounded so strange. On the surface it sounded like the least likely pairing, but the more she thought it, the more it also sounded so right. Now it really was _Batman and Wonder Woman._

Knowing her friends were happy was enough to make Shayera forget about her own currently tormented love life, at least for now. The smile spread over her face as she lay her head down flat against her pillow, allowing her eyes to close as she savoured the moment and the thought of all that lay ahead for those two.

And perhaps, one day, for her too, if GL finally got his head screwed back on right.

For sure, the future could well now have a very bright shine to it. Now they just all had to live it...

**This is not the end. This is just the beginning.**

* * *

_**A/N:**_

_And that's it! Thank you all for reading, supporting, reviewing, following and whatever the hell else you've been doing. You've all been great. Special shout outs for LloydRPG, mbembet and The Mortal Knight who've been here and reviewing away since pretty much day one. I'll not be naming the rest of you or folks who normally work back stage at awards shows will start chasing me playing loud orchestral music, but I'm thanking you all in spirit regardless, especially the other reviewers. They mean a lot._

_You may be interested to know that I'm intending to one day follow this up with sequels. There's too many great characters who are too fun to write for me not to (and there's Superman too). I've got the stories cracked for at least two more that'll build on this, take the characters further and to new places while also giving all new kinds of action set pieces and drama alongside it. The new stories will be making more use of the rest of the League, while still keeping Batman and Wonder Woman very much at the core. There's even a fourth one starting to fall into place in my head, we'll see how that goes. I don't want to give anything away, but I'll just say this; I don't like sequels for sequels' sake. I definitely think these ones are worth doing and not just a rehash of what's gone before. Just don't be expecting it to be an easy ride, or any 50 Bat-shades of grey, because that's not my style._

_The only problem is I don't have much free time coming up to commit to writing any of it, particularly before Christmas, so it might be a fair while before I get around to them. I'll get started now, but I don't want to start posting stuff until I know I'll be able to finish it in a reasonable time frame. I don't want to be one of these writers who publishes the start of a story and leaves it forgotten about for months, leaving you guys without any sort of conclusion._

_But one day it will happen. One day I'll get at least one of the sequels finished and published. You'll know when its near because when I'm all systems go again I'll start by doing an extended epilogue to this one that'll also serve as an extended prologue/trailer to the first sequel. This "trailer" will probably be released as a separate, one chapter story a month or so before the sequel is due, so keep an eye out._

_Should probably also throw in the disclaimer I forgot to do at the start; **I unfortunately own none of, nor can or will profit from, any of the non-original characters, settings and events.** Those grand lads and lasses at DC do. Along with some of the less grand ones over there. (Unless you're reading this several years after I wrote it, in which case, who knows...)_

_But all original stuff is mine! So there. If anyone wants their hands on _them_, I only accept offers in the form of British Pound Sterling (a politely worded PM will likely also do fine, depends on my mood)._

_Anyways, that's me done. For now.__ Hope you liked the story. Review/favourite to let me know!_

_See you all again soon (sometime)!_


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